Columbia  (Bntoetsitp 
intijeCttpoOtotark 


THE  LIBRARIES 


TRAVELS 


EUROPE  AID  THE  EAST 


A   YEAR    IN 

ENGLAND,  SCOTLAND,  IRELAND,  WALES,  FRANCE,  BELGIUM, 

HOLLAND,  GERMANY,  AUSTRIA,  ITALY.  GREECE, 

TURKEY,  SYRIA,  PALESTINE,  AND  EGYPT. 


BY  SAMUEL  IREffHUS  PRIME, 

IN     T  \V  O     VOLUMES 

VOL.  II. 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHER?, 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 

1855. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  fifty-five,  by 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


Q 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   ALPS  :    TURIN  :    THE   WALDENSES. 

Priest  and  holy  Women — Savoy — Beggars — The  Cross — Vale  of  Aix 
— Chamberry — Night  Ride — Breakfast — Woman  and  Dog — Peas- 
ants— Houses  of  Refuge — Dragging  the  Coach — Down  Hill — Turin 
— Processions — General  Beckwith — Visit  to  the  Waldenses — Hon. 
William  B.  Kinney  —  The  Vaudois  —  College  —  School — People — 
Reception — Interview — The  Martyrs 7 

CHAPTER  II. 

GENOA   AND    ITS   PALACES. 

Railways  in  Italy — A  Lady  smoking  in  the  Cars — The  Country — 
Fete  Day — Crossing  the  Apennines — First  Sight  of  the  Sea — Genoa 
— The  Palaces — Churches — Strada  Nuova — Brignole  Rosso — Cos- 
tume of  the  young  Women — Galley  Slaves — Di  Negro  Palace  and 
Grounds — Balbi — Sunset 24 

CHAPTER  III. 

MILAN   AND   LAKE   COMO. 

A  Russian  General,  Wife,  and  Daughter  —  Milan  Cathedral  — Da 
Vinci's  Last  Supper — Amphitheatre — Arch  of  Peace — Dr.  Capelli 
— The  Hospital — Police — An  Inquisitive  Englishman — Monza  and 
the  Iron  Crown — Como,  the  loveliest  Lake — Villas  on  Shore — Bel- 
lajio — A  Maid  on  the  Wall — Selbelloni  Palace  and  Gardens — The 
Russian  offers  me  his  Daughter — Melzi  Villa — Summa  Riva 32 

CHAPTER  IV. 

VERONA — MANTUA — VENICE. 

Posting  it — Breschia — Roman  Antiquities  —  Lake  di  Garda  —  The 
Peasantry — Verona — Lords  and  Tombs — Frescoes — The  Amphi- 
theatre— Mantua — The  Scenes  of  the  Georgics — Ducal  Palace — No 
Virgil — An  Italian  Sunset — The  Queen  of  the  Adriatic — Cause- 
way— Custom-house — Gondolas — Canals  —  San  Marc  —  Piazza — 
Church — Piazzetta — Sleep  and  Dreams 46 

CHAPTER  V. 

VENICE. 

Stones  of  Venice — Aristocracy — Doge's  Palace — Giant's  Stairway — 
Lion's  Mouth  —  Council  of  Ten  —  Council  Chamber  —  Titian's 
"Faith" — His  "Assumption"— Dungeons — State  Prison — Bridge 
of  Sighs — Gondola  —  Manfrini  Palace — Foscari — Byron — Paint- 
in  gs — Rialto — San  Marc — Churches — A  Life  Picture 54 

Vol.  II.— A 


14741 i 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FROM    VENICE    TO    FLORENCE. 

Leave  Venice — Dissolving  Views — Padua:  its  Churches  and  Uni- 
versity— Arrest  on  the  Frontier — Ferrara — Ariosto  and  Tasso — • 
Bologna — Guards — Robbers — Tuscany — "Welcome  to  Florence — 
Brothers  of  Mercy 63 

CHAPTER   VII. 

FLORENCE. 

'lower  of  Michael  Angelo — Fiesole — An  Etruscan  City — Haunts  of 
great  Poets — Monks  and  Beggars — Amphitheatre — Galileo  and 
Milton — Hallam's  Description — The  Duomo — Dante's  Seat — Bru- 
nelleschi's  Genius — Santa  Croce,  the  Westminster  Abbey  of  Italy 
— Michael  Angel o's  Spouse — Angel-painting — "  Night  and  Day" — 
Frescoes— Street  of  Statues— Uffizii  Palace— Pitti  Palace— Society 
in  Florence — The  Brownings  and  others — Mrs.  Somerville — Mrs. 
Trolloppe— Morals  of  Italy— Manners 75 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    STUDIO    OF   POWERS. 

A  Day  with  Hiram  Powers— The  Story  of  the  Man— Thorwalsden 
calls— Powers'  Studio— Statue  of  America— Washington— Cali- 
fornia—La  Penserosa— Other  Artists 98 

CHAPTER   IX. 

DYING   AAV  AY   FROM   HOME. 

My  friend  Rankin  sickens — Fever  of  the  Country — Improves — Re- 
lapses— Is  Delirious — Dies  —  Is  Buried  —  Coincidences  —  Flowers 
for  his  Tomb 104 

CHAPTER  X. 

ITALY — PISA — ROME. 

Leaving  Florence — Pisa — Leaning  Tower — Cathedral — Campo  Santo 
— Leghorn — A  Night  on  the  Sea — Civita  Vecchia — Ride  to  Rome 
— In  the  Gates — Capitoline  Hill — The  Forum — Ruins — Coliseum 
— Catacombs — Tomb  of  Cecilia  Metella — Of  Augustus 109 

CHAPTER  XL 

WONDERS    OF    ROME. 

St.  Peter's  Church — Village  on  the  Roof— Ascent  to  the  Ball — View 
in  Front— Utility  and  Worship— The  young  Lady's  Idea— Mosaics 
—Kissing  St.  Peter's  toe,  and  the  Pope's— Heathen  Mythology- 
Canonizing  a  Saint — Pope  Pius  IX.  appears — Ceremonies — The 
Vatican  Paintings  and  Statuary — Laocoon — Apollo  Belvidere — 
Churches  of  Rome — Mummy  Monks — Sacred  Stairs — Pompey's 
Statue — Dying  Gladiator — American  Artists  in  Rome 123 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ITALY — NAPLES. 

Leaving  Kome— The  Campagna— Ruins— Three  Taverns— Pontine 
Marshes— Terracina— Old  Town— Tomb  of  Cicero— St.  Agatha- 
Beggars— Capua— Arrival  at  Naples— View  of  Vesuvius — Museum 
— Campo  Santo— A  Dead  Show— The  Bay— Paradise  and  the  Pit 
—Lake  Avernus— Sibyl's  Cave — Cicero's  Villa— Nero's  Baths— 
Baite — Grotto  del  Cane— Sulphur  Baths 117 

CHAPTER  XHI. 

POMPEII   AND   VESUVIUS. 

Day  in  Pompeii— Smart  Englishmen— Along  Shore— A  Soldier 
knocked  over— A  Chase  and  Capture— The  Gate  of  the  City- 
Street  of  Tombs— House  of  Diomede— Walks  about  Town— An- 
tiquities—House  of  Sallust— Paintings  and  Statuary— Fountains 
and  Baths— Temples  and  Theatres— The  Burial  of  the  City- 
Vesuvius— The  Ascent— The  Crater— The  Crust— The  Descent— 
Herculaneum 1  fi2 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

FROM   ITALY   TO   GREECE. 

In  the  Bay  of  Naples  — The  Shore  — Capri  — Tiberius  — Messina- 
Malta— The  Company— Greece— A  Hermit— Syra— The  Pi  rams— 
Natives— Their  Costume— Xerxes  and  Mount  Egalios— Ancient 
Walls— Temple  of  Theseus— Otho's  Palace— Rev.  Dr.  Jonas  King    176 

CHAPTER  XV. 

ATHENS  AND   ITS   ENVIRONS. 

The  Acropolis— Parthenon— Mars'  Hill — Prison  of  Socrates — Pnyx 
—  King  and  Queen— The  Stadium  — Jupiter  Olympus— Streams 
and  Fountains — A  Funeral— Market— Olives— Eleusis— Tower  of 
Winds— Future  of  Greece— The  People— Greek  Church— Mission- 
aries      190 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

ASL4l    MINOR SMYRNA. 

Leaving  Greece  — The  "Maid  of  Athens"  — Mrs.  Black  and  her 
Daughter— Syra— Bay  of  Smyrna— The  City— Mixed  Population 
—Mount  Pagus—Polycarp— Camels— Bazaars— Trade— Homer- 
Seven  Churches  of  Asia — American  Missionaries — Robbers  in  the 
Mountains — Hamals  or  Porters 217 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

A   FEARFUL    VOYAGE. 

Going  to  the  Wars— Turks,  Arabs,  and  Nubians  on  Board— Muti- 
nous, ragged,  wretched  Fellows— Sickness— Fat  Turk  sleeps  with 
us— Isle  of  Tenedos— Site  of  Old  Troy— Turks  demand  to  be  put 
ashore— Quieted  again— Death  comes— In  the  Dardanelles— Bur- 
ial of  the  Turk — Abydos — Sea  of  Marmora 228 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  City  at  Sunrise — Magnificence  of  the  Sight — The  "Wife-murder 
Door — Dogs — Porters — Mud — Cordial  Reception — Rev.  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin and  Family — A  Turkish  Bath — Rev.  Dr.  Dwight — Golden 
Horn — Rev.  Mr.  Everett  and  Family — Female  Seminary — Preach- 
ing— Rev.  Mr.  Goodell — Cemetery — Sultan  going  to  Prayer — The 
Bazaars — Slave  Market — The  Harem — Slavery  in  Turkey — Howl- 
ing and  Dancing  Dervishes — Miracle-working — A  Lady  smoking 
— Turkish  Women — Social  Life 242 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

A  Firman — The  Seraglio  Palace — Audience  and  Throne  Room — 
Harem — Armory  —  Bedchamber — Kitchen — Stables — Mosque  of 
Santa  Sophia — Tombs  of  the  Sultans — Shores  of  the  Bosphorus — 
Europe  and  Asia — Giant's  Mountain — Egyptain  Sailors — Allied 
Fleets — Kaudali — Bebek — The  Missionaries  and  their  Work  ....    267 

CHAPTER  XX. 

COASTS    OF    ASIA   MINOR. 

Departure  from  Constantinople — Our  Passengers — "Women  apart — 
Turk  with  his  two  "Wives — Merchants  and  Merchandise — Smyrna 
— Islands  of  the  Sea — Scio  —  Samos  —  Nicaria  —  The  Harem  in 
Trouble — Patmos — Rhodes — Colossus — Turkish  Concert  of  Music 
— On  Shore — Deserted  Streets — Library — Sail  again — Meet  Vessel 
out  of  her  Way — Tarsus — Italian  Mountebanks — Jew  and  Greek 
Pilgrims — New  Year's  in  the  East — Boston  Rum — Alexandretta 
— Latakea  —  Fearful  Scene  —  Isle  of  Cyprus  —  Venus  —  Cyprian 
Wine — Scriptural  association 282 

CHAPTER  XXL 

SYRIA — MOUNT    LEBANON. 

Beyroot — Arrival — Reception — Disappointment — Engaging  a  Drag- 
oman— Contract — Social  Life  with  the  Missionaries — Grave  of 
Pliny  Fl.;k  —  Mission  Families  —  Arab  Curses  —  Meeting  an  old 
Classmate — Ride  to  Lebanon — Sacred  History — Almonds,  Figs, 
Olives,  and  Kharibs — Fountains — Women  wearing  Horns — Sheep 
with  large  Tails — The  House  of  my  Friend — His  School — Arab 
Curiosity  —  View  from  a  peak  of  Lebanon  —  Tomb  of  a  Druse 
Saint — Cedars  of  Lebanon — Superstitions — Excursion  to  the  Nin- 
eveh of  Syria — Ancient  Inscription — Remarkable  Features — Arab 
Race 299 

CHAPTER  XXIL 

SYRIA    AND    PALESTINE. 

Punctual  Dragoman  — Leave-taking  — Evil  Eye  — Khan  Khulda— 
Sarcophagi  —  Cross  a  River  and  lunch  under  a  Palm  —  Mr.  Cal- 
houn joins  us — Residence  of  Lady  Hester  Stanhope  —  Singular 
Facts — lonah's  Tavern  —  A  roving  Englishman  —  Escape  from 


CONTENTS. 


Drowning — Approach  Sidon  —  Orange  Groves — Jackals  —  Tents 
pitched — Rev.  Mr.  Thompson  welcomes  us  to  Sidon — The  Vice- 
Consul — Night  on  the  "Wall — Old  City — Leave  in  the  Morning — 
Horde  of  Robbers — Ancient  Aequeduct — Sarepta — Tomb  of  Elijah 
— Tyre — Elders  in  the  Gate — Rabble — Streets — Hovels — Sea-side 
— Columns  under  water — "Walls — Dinner — Night  in  Tent — Alarm 
— Rass-el-Ain — Acre — Oriental  Tavern — Safura — Cana  of  Galilee 
— Nazareth — Convent — Hospice — Missionaries 312 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

LAND    OF    PALESTINE. 

Civil  War  breaks  out — Bedouins  from  beyond  Jordan — Guards  em- 
ployed— Leaving  Nazareth — Looking  on  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon 
— Scripture  History — Scenes  on  the  Plain — Party  of  Bedouins — 
Fulah  —  Jezreel  and  Shunem  —  Gilboa — Saul  and  Jonathan  —  A 
new  Guide — Invited — Cross  the  Kishon — Women  at  the  Fountain 
— Berkeen — Wretchedness  of  People — Sleeping  with  a  Horse — 
Quarrel  with  our  Host  —  Swearing  a  Debt  —  Villages  —  Plain  of 
Dothan — Joseph's  Pit — Samaria — Nablous 845 

CHAPTER   XXIV. 

LAND    OF    PALESTINE. 

Our  Quarters  in  Nablous — The  House-top — Scripture  Illustrations — 
Place  of  Retirement  or  of  Proclamation — Solomon's  Idea — Man- 
ners and  Customs  without  Change — Rumors  of  Wars — Hostility 
to  Christians — Ebal  and  Gerizim — Blessing  and  Cursing — History 
of  the  City — Jacob's  Arrival — Congress  of  Israel — Sabbath  Serv- 
ices —  Samaritans  —  Synagogue  —  Ancient  Manuscripts — Ascend 
Mount  Gerizim — Place  of  Burnt  Sacrifice — Holy  Ground — View 
of  Salem  and  Region  round  about — Descent — Women  at  Dinner 
— Eastern  Salutation — The  Guards  back  out — Muleteers  mutiny.    360 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

LAND    OF    PALESTINE. 

Excursion  to  Jacob's  Well — Taking  away  the  Stone — Getting  in — 
Measuring  the  Well — The  Bedouins  coming — Getting  out — Mount- 
ing in  hot  Haste — Flight — Pursuit — Overtaken — Assault — Mr. 
Righter's  Gallantry — He  is  wounded — Escape — Guides  robbed — 
Return  to  Town — Appeal  to  the  Governor — Contract  with  a  Sheikh 
— Preparation — Party  enlarged — Escape  by  retired  Route — Plain 
of  Sharon — Antipathies — Village  Life — Fight  among  Muleteers — 
Maid  at  the  Well— Reach  Jaffa 377 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

EGYPT ALEXANDRIA. 

Donkey-boys  of  Egypt — Mixed  People — Alexandria — The  Square — 
Ruins  of  Alexandrian  Library — Bastinado — Paying  Workmen — 
Penny  a  Day — Cleopatra's  Needles — Alexander's  Tomb — Pom- 
pey's  Pillar — Catacombs — Women  with  Children  on  their  Shoul- 
ders—  Flies  on  their  Eyes  —  Ophthalmia — Tyranny — Recruits  — 
Funeral  Customs 397 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

CAIRO    AND    THE    PYRAMIDS. 

Egyptian  Steamers— Omnibus— Canal— Women  on  Shore— Mounds 
and  Ruins— Managing  the  Craft— English  Captain  throwing  his 
dead  Child  overboard— Funeral— Atfeh— The  Nile— Overflow— 
Boolak— Caravan— Cairo— The  Streets  at  Night— The  Streets  by 
Day — Citadel — Mosques — Mamelukes — Palace  of  the  Pasha — The 
Sphinx  and  the  Pyramids 408 


LIST   OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Florence  from  San  Miniato 74 

The  Campanile "6 

The  Duomo 82 

Church  of  Santa  Maria  Novella 85 

Pitti  Palace 92 

St.  Peter's 122 

Kissing  the  Pope's  Toe 127 

Granting  Absolution  in  St.  Peter's 128 

The  Pope  in  his  Pontifical  Robes 130 

Cardinal  in  full  Costume 131 

The  Holy  Stairs 139 

The  Pantheon  at  Rome 142 

The  Theseum  at  Athens 183 

Statue  of  Theseus 184 

The  Acropolis  restored 191 

The  PropyljEA 192 

The  Parthenon 193 

Frieze  of  the  Parthenon 195 

Plato 197 

The  Erechtheum 198 

Caryatides 199 

1 1 1  ax  OP  Socrates 201 

III  i.  I'nyx 202 

Temple  op  Jupiter  (  >lympus 204 

Jove 205 

Boreas  209 

Alexandrian  Donkey-boys 398 

Irrigating  Wheel,    Nile  Boat.    Pyramids 412 

The  Bazaar 416 

Mosque  of  Sultan  Hassan 425 

T<  >.m  b  of  Sultan  K aitlay 426 

The  Ferry  at  old  Cairo 429 

Tin.  Sphinx  and  Pyramids 430 

The  Great  Pyramid 434 

The  Pyramids 439 


EUROPE  AID  THE  EAST. 


CHAPTEE   I. 

THE     ALPS:      TURIN:      THE     WALDENSES. 

Priest  and  holy  Women— Savoy— Beggars— The  Cross— Vale  of 
Aix— Chamberry— Night  Ride— Breakfast— Woman  and  Dog- 
Peasants— Houses  of  Refuge— Dragging  the  Coach— Down  Hill- 
Turin — Processions — General  Beckwith — Visit  to  the  Waldenses 
—Hon.  William  B.  Kinney— The  Vaudois— College— School- 
People— Reception— Interview— The  Martyrs. 

For  many  days  ahead  the  seats  in  the  Malle  Poste 
and  the  diligence  had  been  engaged,  and  to  get  away 
from  Geneva,  over  the  Alps,  into  Italy,  was  not  an 
easy  matter.  We  finally  secured  places,  and  at  seven 
in  the  morning  set  off  for  Turin,  "by  way  of  Mont 
Cenis.  Among  our  passengers  was  a  Romish  priest, 
who  brought  his  prayer-book  with  him,  and  read  it 
attentively ;  and  a  couple  of  "  holy  women"  of  some 
sort,  who  were  accompanied  to  the  place  of  starting  by 
several  of  their  sisterhood.  Their  leave-taking  was 
very  tender,  and  many  tears  were  shed.  I  was  curi- 
ous to  know,  and  my  neighbor,  the  priest,  could  have 
told  me  who  they  were  and  where  they  were  bound, 
but  I  did  not  choose  to  make  inquiries.  They  were 
quiet  passengers,    and  left  us   at   Chamberry.     The 


EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


lidggage  una  beggars.  s  es  ia  nei^o. 

scenery  was  charming,  the  day  fine,  and  the  ride  ex- 
ceedingly agreeable,  bringing  us  at  noon  to  the  fron- 
tiers of  Savoy,  and  the  inevitable  nuisance  of  a  cus- 
tom-house. Every  thing  was  taken  down  from  the 
top  of  the  diligence,  and  trunks,  bags,  and  boxes 
turned  inside  out  without  ceremony  or  mercy.  It 
was  the  most  unsparing  overhauling  we  had  experi- 
enced, and  duties  were  exacted  from  some  of  the  pas- 
sengers on  articles  that  had  passed  through  various 
kingdoms  unchallenged.  This  is  one  of  the  customs  I 
hope  to  see  abolished,  even  in  advance  of  the  millen- 
nium. 

We  are  now  in  Savoy.  And  the  first  indication  of 
the  change  of  country,  after  crossing  the  line,  was 
the  attack  upon  us  by  a  swarm  of  beggars  ;  the  lame, 
the  blind,  the  diseased  and  deformed,  young  and  old, 
gathering  about  us  when  we  stopped,  and  especially 
hovering  at  the  foot  of  hills  up  which  the  carriage 
must  go  at  a  slow  pace,  and  all  this  time  they  could 
press  their  claims  in  the  ears  and  eyes  of  the  travel- 
lers :  one  man  would  thrust  the  stump  of  an  arm  into 
the  window,  and  implore  pity  for  the  love  of  God ;  a 
woman  would  point  to  a  sickening  sore  in  her  bosom, 
and  plead  as  only  a  poor  woman  can  plead,  till  it  was 
impossible  to  resist  the  appeal.  Often  we  came  by 
the  CROSS  reared  on  the  wayside,  and  sometimes  vo- 
tive offerings  were  at  the  foot.  The  Romish  priest 
who  sat  next  to  me,  called  my  attention  to  them,  and 
asked  "If  we  had  them  in  my  country."  I  told  him 
that  we  loved  the  cross,  but  were  not  in  the  habit  of 
setting  it  up  in  the  street  or  in  corn-fields.     We  be- 


CROSSING     THE     ALPS. 


Vfilo  of  Ai 


lieved  in  Him  who  died  on  the  cross,  and  loved  the 
symbol  too  much  to  make  so  common  a  use  of  it  as 
they  do  in  Italy. 

A  diligence  ride  in  a  foreign  land  is  dull  enough,  if 
the  parties  wedged  together  are  not  congenial,  but  we 
managed  to  wear  away  a  pleasant  day ;  stopping  for 
twenty  minutes  at  Annecy  to  dine  ;  passing  Alby  and 
its  noble  bridge  of  a  single  arch ;  getting  a  fine  view 
of  the  old  ruined  castle  of  the  Countess  of  Geneva. 
Toiling  over  a  tedious  hill,  and  coming  down  into  a 
wide  and  lovely  valley,  I  seemed  to  have  found  my 
ideal  of  Italian  scenery ;  but  this  was  soon  forgotten 
when  we  entered  the  Vale  of  Aix,  a  region  famed  for 
its  baths,  and  a  resort  for  the  rich  and  the  invalids, 
all  the  way  down  from  the  old  Komans  to  the  present 
hour.  A  valley  that  has  been  improved  as  a  watering- 
place  for  two  thousand  years,  should  by  this  time  have 
become  a  fairy-like  spot,  and  so  this  seemed  to  be, 
with  its  streams  and  fountains,  walks  amidst  groves 
and  lakes,  and  the  vines  trained  on  trees  planted  for 
the  purpose,  making  the  hillsides  and  the  plains  to 
rejoice  in  the  gayest  attire.  The  ancient  city  of  Cham- 
berry  lies  in  another  of  these  charming  vales,  sur- 
rounded by  vine-clad  hills,  on  which  are  fine  chateaus 
and  Oriental  villas,  smiling  all  over  the  country  side, 
and  cheering  the  traveller,  who  feels  that  he  is  now 
entering  a  new  land,  of  which  he  has  read  from  child- 
hood and  has  longed  to  see.  The  Alps  are  yet  be- 
tween us  and  Italy,  but  we  have  already  begun  to  see 
what  it  is,  the  earnest  of  beauty  yet  to  come.  Cham- 
berry,  with  its  numerous  convents  and  its  venerable 

A* 


10  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Elephant  monument.  Night  ride. 

cathedral,  received  us,  and  detained  us  some  hours 
while  we  wandered  over  its  streets  ;  read  the  inscrip- 
tion on  the  most  singular  monument  I  have  ever  seen, 
four  elephants  of  stone  sustaining  a  marble  fountain, 
erected  to  the  memory  of  some  one  who  had  distin- 
guished himself  in  the  East  where  elephants  are  com- 
mon. At  the  coach-office  I  fell  in  with  another  Ro* 
mish  priest,  who  addressed  me  in  Latin,  and  we  had 
a  pleasant  chat  in  that  language  supposed  to  be  dead, 
though  we  now  and  then  find  it  alive,  as  in  this  case. 
He  was  on  his  way  to  London  to  reside,  and  was  full 
of  his  mission,  delighted  with  the  prospect  before  him, 
and  wishing  to  push  on  still  further  and  go  to  America. 
At  nine  in  the  evening  we  set  out  for  a  ride  all 
night !  A  ride  never  to  be  attempted  by  travellers 
when  there  is  any  door  of  escape.  There  was  none 
for  us,  as  we  were  but  two,  and  could  not  afford  a  pri- 
vate carnage.  Oh  the  weary  hours  of  that  long  night ! 
and  oh,  "how  welcome  was  the  morning  light!"  A 
wretched  tavern  furnished  us  a  wretched  breakfast, 
which  was  devoured  almost  without  thankfulness,  I 
fear,  by  a  worn  and  wretched  party,  disposed  to  grum- 
ble at  each  other  and  every  thing  else.  And  our  tem- 
per was  to  be  tried  still  further  when  we  mounted 
again,  and  an  ugly  French  woman  presented  herself 
at  the  door  of  the  coach,  and  was  to  get  into  the  seat 
of  a  passenger  who  left  us  here.  We  had  no  objection 
to  herself  personally,  but  she  carried  in  her  arms  a 
dog,  about  four  times  as  large  as  a  lady  should  carry, 
which  she  proposed  to  introduce  as  one  of  our  inside 
party.      At  this  we  remonstrated  in  half  a  dozen  Ian- 


CROSSING     THE     ALPS.  11 

Pet  dog  hooked.  Rude  husbandly. 

guages,  and  with  more  gestures  lest  the  tongues 
should  fail.  But  she  carried  her  point — the  ladies 
always  do — and  with  her  pet,  and  in  a  pet  besides, 
she  entered  the  door,  when  the  dog  instantly  set  up 
a  cry  of  distress  as  he  was  carried  over  the  knees  of 
my  companion.  I  confess  I  thought  Rankin,  in  mis- 
chief, had  pinched  him  terribly,  but  the  cry  continued 
so  long,  and  increased  after  the  woman  was  seated, 
that  we  began  to  fear  he  was  mad.  Presently  Rankin 
missed  the  hook  which  he  carried  to  hang  his  hat  by, 
and  a  general  search  was  made  in  the  bottom  of 
the  coach ;  the  woman  with  the  dog  found  blood  on 
her  dress,  and  soon  the  hook  was  discovered  in  the 
flesh  of  the  animal,  and  the  mystery  of  his  yell  as  he 
crossed  the  lap  of  my  friend  was  solved.  I  pulled 
out  the  hook,  and  pitied  the  brute,  whose  suffering 
somewhat  reconciled  us  to  his  company.  In  fact  he 
was  more  of  a  favorite  than  his  mistress  the  rest  of 
the  day.  The  poverty  and  general  wretchedness  of 
the  inhabitants  in  the  midst  of  a  beautiful  country 
were  painfully  obvious.  The  peasants  we  met  fre- 
quently, with  donkeys  laden  with  faggots,  and  often 
with  reeking  bags  of  manure.  The  plowing  was  of 
the  rudest  kind ;  a.  wooden  plow  was  drawn  by 
cows,  and  a  girl  followed  with  a  rake  to  serve  as  a 
harrow.  What  could  be  expected  from  such  hus- 
bandry as  this  ?  At  St.  Michel  we  were  beset  by  an 
army  of  the  sturdiest  and  most  importunate  beggars, 
and  having  escaped  them,  we  came  upon  the  fort  and 
castle  of  Leseillon,  defending  this  great  pass  of  the 
Alps.     Battery  rises  above  battery  on  the  verge  of  an 


12  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Fortification.  Toiling  up  hill. 

awful  precipice  overlooking  the  road,  and  plainly  bid- 
ding defiance  to  all  hostile  comers.  The  gorge  is  so 
deep  through  which  the  road  passes,  that  while  a 
foaming  river  appears  to  be  going  up,  we  are  all  the 
time  going  down.  Underneath  the  ground  are  wind- 
ing ways  to  lead  out  and  into  this  fortification,  and  to 
an  unprofessional  eye  it  looks  as  though  an  enemy 
would  in  vain  attempt  to  make  a  passage  at  this  point. 
The  mastery  of  Napoleon's  genius  now  strikes  the 
mind.  We  are  coining  to  the  ascent,  to  Mont  Cenis, 
and  are  now  on  the  great  military  road  which  was  con- 
structed by  his  order,  at  an  expense  of  a  million  and 
a  half  of  dollars.  At  Lanselbourg  we  put  on  seven 
extra  horses,  making  a  team  of  eleven  to  draw  the 
coach  up  the  road.  At  every  few  miles  of  the  zigzag 
ascent,  a  "House  of  Refuge"  has  been  erected,  and 
these  are  kept  by  persons  appointed  for  the  purpose 
to  receive  and  succor  benighted  or  exhausted  travel- 
lers ;  and  whenever  we  reached  them,  the  people  came 
out  and  proffered  their  help,  which  was  sometimes 
needed,  for  the  strain  upon  the  harness  was  so  great 
that  we  were  often  compelled  to  stop  and  repair  dam- 
ages. The  road  is  smooth,  though  very  steep,  and 
now  it  was  heavy  with  recent  rains,  which  had  here 
and  there  broken  it  up  and  rendered  it  almost  im- 
passable. At  times  we  were  compelled  to  leave  the 
carriage  till  it  was  dragged  over  a  bad  spot,  which  it 
was  safer  for  us  to  cross  on  foot.  It  was  late  in  the 
night  when  we  reached  the  summit,  and  if  the  glory 
of  the  prospect  was  to  be  any  compensation  for  the 
toil  of  travel  up,  we  were  not  to  have  it.      No  wide- 


CROSSING     THE     ALPS.. 


On  the  summit. Subo. The  plains. 

spread  scene  of  hills  and  vales  and  lakes  below ;  no 
signs  in  the  sky  even;  for  a  miserable  sleet  of  snow 
and  rain  was  falling ;  the  coach  lamps  barely  giving 
light  enough  to  let  us  know  that  we  were  crossing  the 
Alps  in  one  of  the  darkest,  dismalest  times  that  it  ever 
happened  to  the  fate  of  pleasure  travellers  to  stumble 
on.      So  in  patience  possessing  my  soul  and  my  body 
in  a  blanket,  I  went  to  sleep  while  the  coach  went 
thundering   down  the  hills  ;    not  with  the  Jehulike 
drive  of  old  on  the  Alleghanies,  where  the  stage  some- 
times went  over  the  horses,  but  with  a  steady  roll,  the 
wheels  being  locked,  and  one  man  holding  hard  on  the 
brake,  while  another  steered  the  steeds ;  and  so  we 
went  down,   down  to   SuSA,  an  ancient  town  about 
which  an  extraordinary  chapter  might  be  written,  had 
we  time  to  study  it.     But  the  daylight  has  come,  and 
we  are  now  on  the  plains  of  Sardinia.     We  looked 
back  to  see  the  morning  breaking  on  the  snowy  peaks 
of  the  Alps  we  had  left.     We  were  in  another  clime, 
The  soft  air  of  spring  seemed  to  breathe  gently  on  us. 
It  was  a  joy  to  inhale  it— to  look  out  on  the  vineyards 
and  meadows  we  were  passing  through,  and  gardens 
with  oranges   hanging  over  the  fence,   luscious   and 
tempting.     And  now  we  are  entering  an  avenue  of 
trees,  noble  shade-trees,  and  far  ahead  for  miles  their 
branches  extend   over  the  road.      A  fresh  team   of 
horses  has  been  pressed  into  the  service ;    we  have 
always  the  best  team  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  a 
journey ;  and  at  a  fine  rattling  pace  we  rush  over  the 
ground,  and  at  early  breakfast-time  are  in  the  city  of 
TriiiN. 


14  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


To  say  that  Turin  is  the  best  built  city  in  Europe 
will  sound  extravagant,  but  I  have  not  seen  a  better. 
The  government  appoints  an  officer  whose  business, 
like  that  of  the  Roman  iEclile,  is  to  superintend  the 
erection  of  all  buildings,  and  no  house  can  be  put  up 
without  his  approbation  of  its  dimensions  and  style. 
Consequently  there  is  not  a  mean-looking  house  in 
the  city,  while  there  are  streets  in  which  the  poor  re- 
side that  look  like  rows  of  palaces. 

Our  hotel,  the  JEurqpa,  is  on  the  Place  Castello, 
the  great  square  of  the  city.  Of  a  Sunday  it  was 
tilled  with  the  people  in  pursuit  of  their  pleasures. 
Directly  under  the  balcony  on  which  my  windows 
opened,  a  party  of  jugglers  and  mountebanks  were 
performing  in  the  midst  of  an  admiring  ring  of  spec- 
tators. Their  feats  of  skill  with  knives,  balls,  and 
hoops,  their  agility  and  strength,  would  have  drawn 
down  the  applause  of  a  theatre  in  our  country,  but 
they  expected  nothing  for  their  exhibition  save  the 
few  coppers  that  might  be  given  to  them  in  the 
crowd.  A  procession  of  nuns  traversed  the  square 
on  their  way  to  church,  the  one  in  front  bearing  a 
long  wooden  cross.  Priests  were  so  frequently  pass- 
ing that  they  seemed  to  form  a  considerable  part  of 
the  population.  We  left  our  hotel  early  to  look  in 
upon  some  of  the  Catholic  churches.  At  the  first  Ave 
visited,  a  woman  was  climbing  up  the  steps  on  her 
knees.  The  house  was  thronged  with  people,  who 
seemed  chiefly  to  be  of  the  lower  orders,  but  in  all 
Catholic  churches  the  rich  and  poor  meet  together  on 
common  ground.     In  the  cathedral,  where  the  royal 


TTRIN. 


Relics.  Validate  church. 

family  were  worshipping,  we  found  several  statues 
and  groups  of  statuary  of  great  beauty,  and  the  pic- 
torial and  sculptured  embellishments  that  met  us  in 
all  the  houses  of  worship,  reminded  us  that  we  are 
now  in  Italy.  In  the  chapel  of  Santa  Sudario  is  a 
piece  of  cloth  which  Romish  imposture  pretends  is 
part  of  the  shroud  in  which  the  body  of  Jesus  was 
entombed.  I  was  not  impressed  with  the  truth  of 
the  tradition,  though  the  faithful  see  the  impression 
of  the  Saviour's  limbs  on  the  rag. 

Tired  of  these  churches,  in  which  there  is  so  much 
to  offend  our  Protestant  tastes,  and  so  little  to  excite 
the  spirit  of  devotion,  we  sought  the  Church  of  the 
Vaudois,  the  Waldensian  congregation.  In  a  court, 
retired  from  the  public  street,  and  in  a  building  that 
could  hardly  aspire  to  the  name  of  a  church,  we  had 
the  happiness  of  finding  these  people  assembled  for 
public  worship.  The  Waldenses  dwell  in  the  mount- 
ains, a  day's  journey  from  Turin,  but  in  this  city  are 
several  hundred  of  the  people,  pious  primitive  Chris- 
tians, who  enjoy,  under  the  constitutional  government 
of  Sardinia,  full  protection  in  their  rights  of  worship, 
The  pastor,  M.  De  Sanctis,  preached  in  Italian,  to 
a  solemn,  attentive,  and  affected  audience  thronging 
the  house.  Many  of  these  hearers  are  Roman  Cath- 
olics, and  I  saw  and  heard  them,  when  the  Bible 
Was  read  and  hymns  sung  and  prayers  offered,  enter- 
ing as  heartily  into  the  service  as  any  who  were  there. 
This  church  is  doing  a  good  work,  and  has  so  far 
been  prospered  and  encouraged  that  they  have  just 
completed  a  large  and  handsome  edifice  in  one  of  the 


1(3  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST, 

General  Beckwith.  His  zeal 

most  desirable  spots  in  the  city.  There  was  some 
diversity  of  sentiment  as  to  the  propriety  of  spending 
thirty  or  forty  thousand  dollars  on  a  single  house, 
but  it  was  important  to  set  up  a  standard  here  that 
should  be  distinctly  seen,  and  to  produce  a  moral  im- 
pression that  Protestantism  is  something  more  than  a 
name. 

General  Beckwith,  a  British  officer  who  lost  a  leg 
at  Waterloo,  has  for  the  last  thirty  years  been  the 
friend  and  patron  of  the  Waldenses.  I  brought  let- 
ters to  him,  but  supposed  that  he  was  out  at  one  of 
the  villages  of  the  Yaudois,  where  he  has  long  had 
his  residence.  At  the  close  of  the  interesting  service 
in  this  chapel,  I  asked  a  venerable  gentleman  next  to 
me  for  the  name  of  the  preacher,  and  as  I  took  out 
some  letters  of  introduction,  he  saw  his  own  name 
Upon  one  of  them,  and  instantly  made  himself  known 
as  General  Beckwith.  He  insisted  on  my  going 
liome  with  him,  and  he  soon  assembled  in  his  hospit- 
able mansion  several  Christian  friends,  with  whom 
we  enjoyed  delightful  intercourse.  In  the  year  1827 
this  excellent  and  distinguished  officer,  travelling  on 
the  Continent,  visited  the  Waldenses,  and  having 
been  previously  deeply  interested  in  their  history,  be- 
came now  no  less  concerned  in  their  present  situation 
and  prospects.  With  heroism  quite  equal  to  his  own 
on  the  field  of  battle,  he  devoted  his  life  and  his  for- 
tune to  their  service ;  actually  settling  down  in  the 
midst  of  them,  promoting  the  establishment  of  schools, 
building  their  churches,  cheering  them  in  their  poverty 
ami  labors  ;  when  his  own  means  were  inadequate,  he 


TUKIN.  17 


The  general's  wife.  -,li-  J^U-*L-- 

has  called  upon  his  Mends  in  England  to  aid  him, 
and  has  again  and  again  visited  his  native  country  to 
obtain  friends  to  advance  the  noble  work  in  which  he 
has  here  been  so  usefully  engaged.     Dr.  Gilly  is  well 
known  also  to  the  religious  world  for  his  philanthropic 
exertions  in  this  same  field.      One  of  the  pupils  of 
the    female    seminary,    who    was    but    a    mere    child 
when   he   established  the   school,   now  a  lovely  and 
accomplished   lady,    has   lately   become   his   wife:    a 
charming  woman  she  is,   and  the  old  General's  dis- 
interestedness may  well  be  called  in  question,  when 
he  carries  out  of  the  valley  such  a  prize  as  this,  in  re- 
turn for  his   twenty-three   years  of  solitary  service. 
In  1848,  after  the  revolutionary  struggles  in  Europe 
had  resulted  in  securing  a  constitution  for  Sardinia, 
granting  religious  liberty  to  the  people,  General  Beck- 
with  determined  to  attempt  the  experiment  of  a  Prot- 
estant church  in  the  city  of  Turin.     He  sent  four  of 
the  Yaudois  young  men  to  Florence  to  learn  the  Ital- 
ian, and  trained  them  for  preaching.      He  opened  a 
room  here  for  divine  service,  and  when  the  place  was 
too  small,  he  fitted  up  the  chapel  which  I  found  them 
in ;  and  this  proving  to  be  inadequate,  he  obtained  a 
royal  edict,  and  getting  funds  from  English  friends, 
he  and  his   associates   have   gone  forward  with  the 
handsome  stone  edifice  which  in  a  few  days  (October 
20th)  they  purpose  to  dedicate  to  Almighty  God — 
the  first  Protestant  church  erected  in  Italy  since  the 
Reformation. 

General  Beckwith  spoke  in  high  terms  of  the  late 
American  Minister,  the  Hon.  William  B.  Kinney, 


18  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Sardinia.  lie  progress. 

who  was  an  honor  to  his  country,  "by  his  great  abili- 
ties, his  integrity,  and  eminent  personal  worth,  se- 
curing universal  respect.  Mr.  Kinney's  enlarged 
views  and  extensive  knowledge  of  political  institu- 
tions, gave  him  great  weight  in  the  diplomatic  circles  ; 
and  I  was  glad  to  learn  from  General  Beckwith  and 
others,  that  the  commanding  influence  which  Mr. 
Kinney  exerted  was  always  on  the  side  of  virtue  and 
good  order.  The  Waldenses  found  in  him  a  firm 
and  efficient  friend.  The  experiment  of  a  Constitu- 
tion works  admirably  in  Sardinia,  in  spite  of  the  em- 
barrassments which  are  constantly  produced  by  the 
aristocracy,  who  are  desirous  of  abrogating  the  in- 
strument, and  reinstating  the  old  order  of  things. 
jNow  the  people  have  as  much  liberty  as  they  know 
how  to  use,  and  will  have  more,  when  they  know 
more.  And  that  they  are  getting  ahead  in  knowl- 
edge, is  sufficiently  obvious  from  the  fact  that  where 
fifteen  hundred  copies  of  newspapers  circulated  before 
the  Constitution,  now  five  millions  are  spread  among 
the  people.  The  principles  of  free  governments  are 
becoming  more  generally  intelligible,  though  it  is 
lamentable  to  perceive  that  even  the  ministers  of 
State  and  the  ablest  European  diplomatists  are  igno- 
rant of  the  first  elements  of  those  theories  on  which 
such  a  government  as  our  own  has  its  basis.  Here, 
in  Europe,  the  people  exist  only  for  the  government : 
at  home  we  have  a  government  for  the  people.  That 
the  people  are  the  source  of  power,  or  have  rights  to 
be  protected,  is  a  thought  that  has  never  yet  been 
embraced  by  any  great  mind  among  the  master  spirits 


TURIN.  19 


Chauipuklou. 


of  the  Continent.  I  was  glad  to  learn  that  Mr.  Kin- 
ney had  produced  a  powerful  impression  here  in  favor 
of  liberal  institutions,  and  the  confidence  he  enjoyed 
of  the  representatives  of  several  of  the  Continental 
Courts,  had  given  him  facilities  for  unfolding  and  de- 
fending these  views  with  the  most  salutary  effect. 
His  departure  from  Turin  was  the  occasion  of  general 
regret. 

The  next  day  we  looked  at  the  palace,  the  galleries, 
the  Egyptian  Museum,  where  Champollion  studied  to 
then  discovery  the  hieroglyphics  which  had  been 
hitherto  sealed  in  impenetrable  mystery,  a  collection 
of  antiquities  said  to  be  the  most  interesting  in  the 
world.  We  climbed  the  hill  to  the  Capuchin  Con- 
vent, across  the  Po,  and  rode  about  the  town,  which 
for  beauty  of  situation  can  hardly  be  surpassed.  The 
xllps  are  always  in  sight,  and  from  the  long  streets, 
crossing  one  another  at  right  angles,  you  can  look  out 
on  their  snow-clad  summits. 

We  were  within  six  hours'  ride  of  the  Waldenses, 
and  resolved  to  visit  the  scenes  of  their  sufferings  for 
conscience'  sake — the  valleys  where  the  martyrs  of 
many  generations  had  been  chased  up  to  heaven,  the 
"Holy  Land"  of  Europe. 

One  of  the  loveliest  days  in  autumn  was  the  day 
that  we  devoted  to  this  excursion.  A  coach  runs  out 
daily  from  Turin,  and  we  availed  ourselves  of  it,  our 
first  experience  of  Italian  stage  riding:  a  clumsy 
wagon  with  a  cover,  harness  that  would  scarcely  hold 
together,  rope  lines,  and  vicious  horses,  kicking  the 
postillions,    and  getting  curses   in   return,   completed 


20  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Kural  scenery.  A  great  dinner. 

our  equipage.  But  with  glory  did  Monte  Viso  lift 
up  its  head  to  the  sky,  clothed  in  white  raiment  to 
its  very  summit,  and  now  shining  with  the  reflected 
light  of  a  "blazing  sun!  The  contrast  between  the 
country  and  the  people  was  painful.  Here  "  only 
man  was  vile."  The  fields  along  the  road  were  cov- 
ered with  vines,  growing  on  poles  or  on  trees  :  twenty 
women  were  in  a  field  spreading  hay,  and  gayly  work- 
ing as  if  they  enjoyed  the  labor.  We  passed  through 
three  villages,  in  each  of  which  was  a  convent  and  a 
church :  over  the  door  of  one,  was  the  inscription  in 
Latin — "  This  is  the  house  of  God,  the  entrance  is 
Holy — the  seal  of  the  Covenant." 

We  stopped  to  dine  at  Pignerol,  an  old  and  decay- 
ing town,  with  the  second  story  of  the  houses  pro- 
jecting over  the  first,  so  as  to  make  a  covered  way; 
a  curious  way,  by-the-way,  which  is  seen  in  sev- 
eral other  cities  on  the  Continent.  The  chief  hotel 
might  have  been  a  palace  once — it  is  not  much  of  a 
tavern  now ;  and  after  we  drove  through  it  into  the 
court  in  the  rear,  we  were  ten  minutes  finding  our  way 
into  the  house.  We  ordered  dinner  for  a  definite  sum, 
I  forget  now  to  what  amount  we  limited  them.  But 
as  one  course  after  another  came  on,  and  was  dis- 
patched, we  began  to  count  the  dishes,  which  amount- 
ed to  twenty-five.  Dinner  over,  we  learned  that  the 
coach  did  not  go  on  till  evening,  and  we  ordered  a 
carriage  for  La  Tour.  Away  we  went,  dashing  on 
with  all  speed  over  a  beautiful  country,  rising  gradu- 
ally from  the  plain,  and  bringing  us  into  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  mountains.      La  Tour  lies  just  in  the 


THE     WALDENSES.  21 

Vaudois  valleys.  Hospice. 

opening  of  the  Valleys  of  Piedmont,  yet  in  the  very 
spot,  perhaps  as  sacred  as  any  in  the  history  of  perse- 
cution, which  has  made  these  regions  hallowed  ground 
in  the  eyes  of  every  Protestant  traveller.  As  I  enter- 
ed the  valley,  and  saw  all  along  up  the  mountain 
sides  the  scattered  cottages  of  the  Vaudois,  and  knew 
that  in  them  all  are  men,  and  the  sons  of  men,  who 
have  kept  the  faith  when  all  the  world  had  forsaken 
it,  I  felt  that  this  narrow  pass  is  the  Thermopylae  of 
the  Church,  and  here  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  has 
perished  for  the  truth. 

A  row  of  five  neat  white  cottages  on  the  main  street 
of  the  village  is  the  residence  of  the  professors  ;  and 
the  College  is  on  the  opposite  side,  where  one  hundred 
young  men  are  now  in  the  course  of  instruction. 
Professor  Revel  received  me  cordially,  and  led  me  at 
once  to  the  Hospice,  a  building  where  the  sick  of  the 
valleys  are  tended  by  Deaconesses,  and  carefully  pro- 
vided for.  In  this  house,  the  General  Board  of  Direc- 
tors for  the  management  of  the  business  of  the  whole 
population  was  now  in  session ;  and  to  this  I  was 
immediately  conducted  and  introduced.  Moderator 
Revel,  who  had  recently  returned  from  a  visit  to  the 
American  churches,  welcomed  me  with  open  arms,  and 
each  of  the  clerical  and  lay  members  gave  me  a  cordial 
greeting.  The  whole  population  of  the  valleys  is 
about  26,000,  of  whom  4000  are  Romanists.  They 
are  scattered  through  three  valleys,  along  the  sides  of 
the  mountains,  which  they  have  terraced  almost  to  the 
summits.  They  have  sixteen  churches,  united  in  a 
Presbyterian    form    of   government,    in    one    Synod. 


22  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  brethren.  Library.  Village. 

Their  secular  business  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Board, 
now  in  session.  They  laid  it  aside,  and  made  inquiries 
of  me  respecting  the  Church  in  America.  The  Mod- 
erator told  me  of  the  delightful  visit  he  had  made  to 
my  country,  and  the  great  encouragement  he  had  re- 
ceived to  expect  substantial  aid.  They  wish  to  endow 
a  theological  department  in  connection  with  their  Col- 
lege, that  they  may  not  be  obliged,  as  they  now  are, 
to  send  their  young  men  abroad  to  Geneva  for  instruc- 
tion. I  was  tenderly  affected  with  the  humble  and 
holy  spirit  of  these  good  men,  and  found  it  hard  to 
tear  myself  away  from  their  company.  They  begged 
me  to  stay ;  I  believe  they  would  have  carried  me  in 
their  arms  from  valley  to  valley,  if  I  would  have  made 
the  tour  of  their  churches,  as  they  urged  me  earnestly 
to  do.  And  when  I  said  a  few  words  in  parting,  re- 
minding them  of  the  ties  in  common,  binding  them  to 
us  of  the  like  precious  faith,  our  tears  mingled ;  we 
pressed  each  others'  hands ;  they  prayed  for  me  and 
committed  me  to  the  care  of  the  Father  and  Saviour 
of  us  all. 

Professor  Revel  then  led  us  to  the  college  and  into 
the  library  of  25,000  volumes ;  and  here  I  saw  the 
portraits  of  General  Beckwith  and  Dr.  Gilly,  old 
Waldensian  Bibles,  relics  of  fiery  trials,  and  some 
books  presented  by  friends  in  America. 

No  village  in  New  England  presents  a  more  orderly 
and  wholesome  ap])earance  than  this.  No  one  asked 
alms.  I  determined  to  give  something  to  the  first 
needy  person  I  met,  but  all  seemed  to  have  the  thrift 
of  industry  and  virtue,  and  charity  was  not  required. 


THE     WALDENSES.  23 

ri'K'k  of  martyrdom.  Persecution. 

The  children  touched  their  hats,  or  took  them  off  re- 
spectfully, when  they  met  a  stranger  ;  a  pleasing  con- 
trast with  the  manner  of  children  generally. 

Overhanging  the  village  is  the  famous  Castelluzzo, 
a  mighty  rock,  which  has  a  tale  of  fearful  cruelties 
forever  associated  with  it.  Mothers  and  their  tender 
offspring  were  hurled  from  its  summit  and  dashed  in 
pieces  on  the  stones  below.  These  horrid  persecutions 
by  the  Papists  were  at  last  arrested  by  the  brave  old 
Puritan,  Cromwell,  who  had.  no  scruples  on  the  subject 
of  inte?'ve?ition  when  humanity  cried  to  him  for  aid. 
Milton  was  the  Latin  Secretary  of  Cromwell,  and 
wrote  the  noble  remonstrances  of  the  Protectorate, 
addressed  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  In  his  glorious  son- 
net, Milton  has  also  left  an  immortal  testimony  against 
the  murderous  cruelty  of  the  persecuting  Church  of 
Home. 

Returning  from  La  Tour,  we  passed  throufe  the 
village  of  St.  Giovanni,  where  the  Vaudois  built  a 
church  while  Piedmont  was  under  the  government  of 
Napoleon.  When  the  Sardinian  monarchy  was  re- 
stored, the  Roman  Catholics  complained  that  they 
were  disturbed  in  their  church  across  the  way  by  the 
singing  of  their  neighbors,  and  the  Vaudois  were  com- 
pelled to  erect  a  wooden  wall  in  front  of  their  door. 
The  wall  has  fallen  to  pieces,  and  the  government  of 
the  country  has  become  tolerant,  so  that  the  sufferings 
of  this  noble  race  of  men  are  over.  Let  us  hope  that 
the  example  of  Sardinia  may  work  a  gradual  change 
in  the  policy  of  all  the  governments  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER  II. 

GENOA     AND     ITS     PALACES. 

Railways  in  Italy — A  Lady  smoking  in  the  Cars — The  Country — 
Fete  Day — Crossing  the  Apennines — First  Sight  of  the  Sea — Ge- 
noa— The  Palaces — Churches — Strada  Nuova — Brignole  Rosso- 
Costume  of  the  young  Women — Galley  Slaves — Di  Negro  Palace 
and  Grounds — Balbi — Sunset. 

Railroads  are  rare  in  Italy.  One  had  been  open  • 
ed  from  Turin  to  Genoa,  but  was  not  completed. 
More  confusion  than  was  convenient  occurred  when 
we  sought  our  tickets  and  places,  but  finally  we  got 
matters  satisfactorily  arranged.  The  cars  were  very 
spacious,  airy,  and  comfortable.  The  passengers,  chief 
ly  Italian,  began  to  show  us  new  phases  of  costume 
and  character.  Into  our  apartment,  as  we  had  but 
two  seats,  a  party  of  two  ladies  and  two  gentlemen 
entered  at  one  of  the  stations  shortly  after  leaving 
Turin.  One  of  the  ladies  was  a  splendid  beauty,  I 
think  the  handsomest  native  I  saw  in  Italy:  her 
dress  and  bearing  were  those  of  an  elegant  lady.  The 
gentlemen  lighted  their  cigars,  and  she  took  one  and 
smoked  with  the  most  perfect  nonchalance,  pushing 
aside  the  green  silk  curtain  with  her  jeweled  fingers 
to  spit  out  of  the  window  (!) — a  lady,  a  beautiful  lady, 
witli  soft,  languishing,  loving  eyes,  sitting  two  feet 
in  front  of  me,  smoking  and  spitting.  And  this  in 
Italy ! 


GENOA     AND     ITS     PALACES.  25 

Natives  astonished.  Transportation. 

And  the  wide  plains  through  which  we  are  riding 
are  clothed  with  vines,  and  the  peasantry  are  lively 
in  their  light  work  in  the  fields.  We  passed  through 
a  tunnel  a  thousand  feet  long,  and  emerged  into  a  ro- 
mantic land,  where  the  road  winds  around  hills  and 
follows  its  way  along  the  margin  of  a  mountain 
stream,  now  and  then  a  charming  vista  opening  he- 
fore  us,  and  nature  showing  us  some  of  her  loveliest 
views.  We  are  coining  to  the  Apennine  mountains, 
and  these  are  the  glimpses  we  get  of  the  rising  and 
lovely  prospects  in  this  romantic  region.  At  Busala, 
the  present  terminus  of  the  railway,  a  great  fete  day 
had  assembled  thousands  of  people  from  the  surround- 
ing country,  even  from  a  great  distance  among  the 
mountains,  many  of  whom  had  never  seen  a  railway 
before.  On  all  the  fences,  houses,  and  heights  of 
every  kind,  the  natives  stood  with  mouths  and  eyes 
wide  open,  gaping  and  gazing  at  the  locomotive  and 
train  as  they  came  thundering  in.  The  Indians  could 
not  have  been  more  surprised  at  the  first  steamer  on 
the  Mississippi.  We  had  to  be  transferred  from  the 
cars  to  coaches,  and  we  chose  to  ride  in  the  banquette, 
a  covered  seat  above  and  behind  the  driver  on  the 
top  of  the  carriage,  the  finest  place  altogether  for  ob- 
servation. The  ascent  of  the  mountains  commenced 
very  soon  after  leaving  Busala,  but  the  road  was 
smooth  and  very  serpentine,  the  scenery  picturesque 
and  sometimes  grand.  Long  trains  of  loaded  wagons 
drawn  by  tandem  horses,  were  slowly  transporting 
freight  over  the  mountains,  and  the  numbers  of  these 
loads  showed  the  great  demand  for  a  railroad  to  con- 
Vol,  II.—  B 


26  EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Dangers  of  railways.  The  sea ! 

nect  the  sea-port  Genoa  with  Turin,  the  capital  of 
Sardinia.  No  other  Italian  government  has  encour- 
aged the  construction  of  railroads — they  are  too  fast 
for  the  rulers  of  this  people ;  making  men's  ideas  to 
move  rapidly,  and  suggestive  of  improvement  and 
progress,  such  ideas  being  dangerous  to  all  despot- 
isms, and  especially  to  such  weak  governments  as 
the  most  of  them  are  in  Italy.  The  constitutional 
monarchy  of  Sardinia,  the  most  hopeful,  and  there- 
fore the  most  hated  of  all  the  governments,  has  fos- 
tered this  great  work,  and  is  pushing  on  with  energy 
the  development  of  all  the  resources  of  the  kingdom. 

The  mountain-pass  accomplished,  we  began  to  de- 
scend into  a  charming  country,  and  the  features  of 
Italian  scenery  more  decidedly  marked  were  constant- 
ly revealed.  The  fig-tree  in  great  abundance  and 
loaded  with  its  delicious  fruit,  the  chestnut  trees  in 
groves  which  furnish  a  staple  article  of  food  for  the 
inhabitants,  the  cane  and  the  vine  were  spread  on 
either  side  of  us.  Dirty  people,  beggars  many,  and 
many  priests  we  met :  and  at  length  the  forts  on  the 
heights  announced  our  approach  to  the  city  of  Genoa. 
The  streets  were  so  narrow  that  we  were  often  com- 
pelled to  stop  for  carts  to  get  by  us ;  and  passing 
through  a  deep  excavation  where  men  were  dangling 
by  ropes,  and  cutting  away  the  rocks  on  the  sides 
of  the  precipice,  the  bay  of  Genoa  burst  upon  our 
sight. 

"  The  sea !  the  sea!"  we  cried,  as  the  Mediterranean, 
smooth  a.s  a  lake  of  glass  and  shining  in  the  rays  of 
the  declining  sun,  lay  wide  before  us :    the  first  time 


GENOA     AND     ITS     PALACES.  27 

City  of  palaces  and  churches. 

it  had  ever  met  our  eyes.  The  sun  had  been  so 
bright  during  the  afternoon  as  to  be  painful,  but  now 
its  last  rays  were  tinging  the  horizon  with  a  beautiful 
pink  color,  which  we  often  see  in  landscapes  ;  and  the 
soft,  languid  beauty  of  the  sunset  and  the  sea,  was 
new  and  pleasing.  Genoa,  like  a  crescent,  stretched 
far  along  the  shore,  and  receding  up  the  hills  was  lost 
to  view  among  the  villas  and  vineyards  in  the  coun- 
try behind  it.  On  the  very  verge  of  the  bay  is  a 
row  of  ancient  palaces,  now  turned  into  taverns,  spa- 
cious hotels,  and  we  were  soon  handsomely  at  home 
in  the  Italia.  From  this  house  we  had  a  fine  view 
of  the  harbor,  the  gulf,  and  the  shipping.  Its  mar- 
ble floors,  frescoed  walls,  and  gilded  ceilings  are  re- 
mains of  the  splendor  which  marked  it  when  the 
Fieschi  and  Grimaldi  families  made  it  gay  with  their 
revelry. 

From  this  old  palace  we  made  excursions  through 
the  city,  to  visit  the  splendid  palaces  still  kept  up  in 
the  style  of  ancient  times,  and  rich  in  superb  paint- 
ings by  the  old  masters.  The  church  of  the  Annun- 
ciation was  more  splendid  than  any  we  had  yet  seen 
but  the  Madeleine ;  its  frescoes  by  Carloni,  and  the 
Last  Supper  by  Procacciani,  not  so  good  as  one  we  had 
seen  at  Turin,  were  yet  so  striking  to  our  uncultivated 
eyes,  that  we  studied  them  with  wonder  and  delight. 
The  magnificence  of  Catholic  churches  began  to  ap- 
pear, as  we  stood  in  front  of  this  gorgeous  altar,  and 
looked  up  at  its  pictures  in  golden  panels,  and  the 
precious  stones  with  which  the  frames  are  adorned. 
Antonio  crossed  himself  when  we  passed  the  altars, 


28  EUIIOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Street  of  palaces.  Pictures. 

and  gave  me  good  proof  of  being  a  devout  believer. 
But  when  in  the  cathedral,  he  called  my  attention  to 
a  statue  of  God  Almighty  holding  the  world  in  his 
hands,  and  laughed  at  the  idea  of  making  an  image 
of  such  a  scene,  he  was  not  so  serious  as  a  good 
Catholic  ought  to  be. 

In  Genoa  there  is  nothing  so  interesting  to  be  seen 
as  the  old  palaces  which  stand  chiefly  on  the  "  Strada 
Nuova,"  well  called  the  street  of  palaces.  They  are 
all  accessible  to  strangers,  and  we  wandered  over 
several  of  them.  The  Brignole  Rosso  was  said  to  be 
among  the  most  attractive,  and  we  sought  it  early. 
The  crimson  tints  in  the  walls  give  it  a  strange  but 
beautiful  appearance ;  its  vast  doors  were  opened  at 
our  call,  and  we  entered  a  marble-paved  court  where 
a  fountain  was  playing :  ascending  a  flight  of  steps, 
we  came  to  another  court  where  a  hanging  garden 
was  filled  with  fruits  and  flowers,  breaking  suddenly 
upon  the  eye.  An  aged  porter  here  met  us,  and  led 
us  tlnough  numerous  and  spacious  apartments,  fur- 
nished with  luxurious  splendor,  and  hung  with  paint- 
ings by  the  old  masters ;  a  catalogue  of  each  room 
lying  open  for  our  use.  Here  was  the  "Rape  of  the 
Sabines,"  by  Yalerio  Castello,  and  several  of  the  best 
of  Vandyke's,  and  one  or  two  by  Guercino,  full  of  the 
rich  coloring  and  warmth  of  feeling  for  which  that 
master  is  so  distinguished.  His  "Cleopatra  and  Asp*' 
is  in  this  palace ;  she  lies  on  the  couch  with  a  coun- 
tenance of  exceeding  beauty,  now  filled  with  despair, 
while  the  blood  oozes  from  the  wound  in  her  breast, 
where  the  fang  is  fastened — a  picture  of  terrible  beau- 


GENOA     AND     ITS     PALACES.  29 

Old  families.  Di  Negro  palace. 

ty,  if  such  can  be.  The  Christ,  in  Vandyke's  picture 
of  the  Tribute  Mone y,  has  a  smile  of  wonderful  effect, 
telling  the  whole  story  of  the  Saviour's  rejecting  the 
proposal  of  the  Pharisees  to  catch  him  in  their  talk. 

"We  walked  out  on  the  balcony,  and  were  charmed 
with  the  gardens  and  groves  of  orange  trees  in  the 
grounds  of  other  palaces ;  and  giving  the  old  man  a 
trifle  for  his  attention,  pursued  our  tour  of  the  sights. 
These  are  the  residences  of  old  Italian  families,  in 
whose  hands  immense  wealth  is  still  retained.  Their 
owners  spend  all  their  time  in  Paris,  or  travelling; 
while  their  houses  are  shut  up,  or  only  opened  to  the 
curious  traveller. 

The  costume  of  the  young  women  is  very  pictur- 
esque— a  long  white  vail  fastened  to  the  top  of  the 
head,  and  falling  gracefully  over  the  back ;  the  hair 
arranged  in  large  plaits,  and  fastened  with  a  silver 
arrow,  and  ornamented  with  the  filligree  work,  which 
is  made  in  greater  quantities  here  than  in  any  other 
place.  The  women  were  only  fair,  and  not  very,  at 
that.  In  sad  contrast  with  the  lively  looks  of  these 
maids  of  Genoa,  were  the  galley-slaves  whom  we  met 
working  in  chains,  and  dragging  loads  through  the 
streets.  They  are  convicted  criminals,  made  useful 
to  the  State  by  their  labor,  and  suffering,  probably, 
no  more  than  they  deserve. 

The  Di  Negro  family — but,  by-the-way,  the  family 
now  is  only  Signor  Charles  di  Negro — have  a  palace  in 
the  upper  part  of  the  town,  which  I  visited  after  hav- 
ing seen  many  that  are  not  to  be  spoken  of  in  connec- 
tion with  this.     Entering  a  long,  grand,  stone  path- 


30  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  gardens.  Statue  of  Washington. 

way,  covered  with  vines,  and  lined  with  orange  and 
olive  trees  loaded  with  fruit,  we  ascended  a  stone 
stairway  to  a  terrace  paved  with  curiously  tesselated 
stones,  with  various  colors  inwrought.  Marble  stat- 
ues of  illustrious  Genoese  and  foreigners  were  placed 
in  niches.  We  ascended  to  still  another  terrace,  and 
wound  our  way  up  to  the  top  of  the  hill  that  looked 
out  on  the  "blue  Mediterranean  in  all  its  glory,  while 
the  city  of  towers  and  palaces,  spires  and  domes  was 
lying  at  our  feet.  We  had  reached  a  platte  from 
which  avenues  led  off  in  various  directions  to  grottoes 
sacred  to  some  great  man,  whose  statue  stood  there 
as  the  genius  of  the  place.  And  here,  on  this  height, 
where  we  could  well  believe  the  great  navigator  had 
often  stood  and  strained  his  eyes  away  into  the  deep 
of  the  western  sky,  we  stood  by  the  side  of  a  statue  of 
Columbus,  looking  longingly  westward.  And  not  far 
off  from  him,  was  a  little  temple  of  Liberty,  with  a 
statue  in  it,  bearing  the  inscription — "Alia  memoria 
di  Washington."  We  took  oif  our  hats  in  a  moment, 
and  cheered  the  memory  of  our  country's  father. 
Glorious  name  it  is ;  and  the  farther  from  home  we 
are,  the  stronger  the  beating  of  the  heart  when  we  are 
reminded  of  our  own  immortal  Washington.  Around 
this  summit,*  are  gardens  with  all  manner  of  loaded 
vines,  tropical  trees  and  shrubs ;  and  looking  off  to 
the  landward,  we  have  a  view  of  the  twenty-two  forts 
and  battlements,  the  castles  and  walls  by  which  the 
city  is  defended ;  and  thousands  of  white  cottages  are 
dotting  the  mountain  sides,  up  which  the  town  ex- 
tends.    I  do  not  wonder  that  emperors,  princes,  and 


GENOA    AND     ITS     PALACES.  31 

Balbi  Palace.  Sunset. 

popes  have  visited  this  garden  and  palace,  and  have 
left  the  records  of  their  pleasure,  in  reveling,  as  they 
have  done,  among  its  wonderful  charms. 

The  Balbi  Palace  opened  its  doors,  and  we  met 
the  Marchioness,  as  remarkable  for  her  own  personal 
beauty  as  for  the  magnificence  of  the  palace,  of  which 
she  is  the  greatest  ornament.  At  sunset  we  had  a  walk 
on  the  promenade  that  has  been  made  over  the  ware- 
houses upon  the  wharf.  Here,  on  the  water's  edge, 
with  all  the  shipping  of  the  harbor  before  you,  and 
the  great  sea  heaving  unceasingly,  it  was  refreshing 
to  enjoy  the  evening  breeze,  and  to  see  the  sun  going 
down  into  his  golden  bed. 


CHAPTER    III. 

MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO. 

A  Russian  General,  Wife,  and  Daughter — Milan  Cathedral — Da 
Vinci's  Last  Supper — Amphitheatre — Arch  of  Peace — Dr.  Capelli 
— The  Hospital — Police — An  Inquisitive  Englishman — Monza  and 
the  Iron  Crown — Como,  the  loveliest  Lake — Villas  on  Shore — . 
Bellajio — A  Maid  on  the  Wall — Selhelloni  Palace  and  Gardens — 
The  Russian  offers  me  his  Daughter — Melzi  Villa — Summa  Riva. 

As  I  was  stepping  into  the  Jlalle  Poste  at  Genoa, 
I  saw  a  man  in  the  seat  behind  mine,  busily  employ- 
ed in  kicking  out  my  travelling  bags  from  under  my 
seat,  and  I  put  them  back.  He  pushed  them  out 
again,  and  I  put  them  back  again.  In  broken  En- 
glish he  began  to  swear  at  me  with  a  looseness  of 
language  remarkable  in  a  foreigner.  When  he  paused 
to  take  breath,  I  asked  if  I  might  speak.  He  broke 
out  again  with  some  very  big  oaths,  said  he  was  fix- 
ing a  place  lor  the  feet  of  his  wife  who  would  soon 

get  in,   and  he  would  be  if  he  wouldn't  have 

those  bags  out.  When  I  could  put  in  a  word,  I  said 
to  him : 

"  If  your  wife  is  coming  in  here  she  shall  have  any 
scat  she  wishes,  and  her  feet  where  she  likes ;  but  if 
you  put  your  foot  on  my  bag  again,  or  swear  at  me 
once  more,  one  or  the  other  of  us  will  be  out  on  that 
ground  in  about  a  minute." 

"  Oh,  ah,  I  be  one  very  sorry.  I  beg  all  your  par- 
don— you  one  Englishman — " 


MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO.  33 

Russian  General.  Milan  soldiers. 

"No,  no,  I  am  not;   I  am  an  American." 
"  Oh,  ah,  si,  oui,  yis,  I  am  one  Russian  General.     I 
am   sorry,   very ;    I  will   you  please,    my  wife   and 
daughter  introduce.     We  be  very  good  friends.     Oh, 
what  fool  I  am ! " 

Having  patched  up  a  peace,  the  Russian  General 
produced  and  introduced  his  wife  and  daughter.  The 
young  lady  proved  to  have  been  well  educated,  speak- 
ing all  the  usual  languages  of  travel  (of  which  Russ  is 
not  one)  with  great  fluency.  A  French  Count  was 
with  them,  and  they  made  quite  a  sudden  and  pleas- 
ant addition  to  our  party.  But  they  were  so  much 
afraid  that  the  old  General's  attack  upon  me  would 
be  remembered,  that  they  fairly  overrun  me  with  love 
and  kindness,  till  in  the  course  of  a  few  days  it  be- 
came a  nuisance.  Too  much  of  a  good  thing  spoils 
the  whole.  We  rode  on  together  to  Milan,  without 
making  a  pause  on  the  way,  even  at  Pavia,  the  seat 
of  an  ancient  medical  college  of  renown,  and  cele- 
brated now  for  its  splendid  cathedral,  and  even  more 
for  the  bones  of  St.  Augustine  brought  here  from 
Egypt.  Our  party,  the  Russian  General  and  his 
family,  and  the  Count,  took  quarters  at  the  Hotel  de 
Yille,  an  admirable  establishment,  and  greatly  fre- 
quented. Under  Austrian  rule,  with  its  soldiers  pa- 
trolling the  streets  by  day  and  night,  yet  themselves 
afraid  of  the  people,  the  city  is  in  perfect  order,  but 
never  without  fear.  At  the  last  outbreak  the  people 
rushed  upon  the  sentries,  and  killed  several  of  them. 
The  soldiers  when  on  duty  now  very  discreetly  keep 
themselves  behind  an  iron  fence,  to  be  protected  from 


34  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Meeting  of  friends.  Cathedral. 

the  people  whom  they  are  expected  to  keep  in  sub- 
jection. I  was  told  that  at  the  next  outbreak,  and  it 
will  come  suddenly,  the  soldiers  will  be  the  first  vic- 
tims and  the  priests  the  next. 

At  the  door  of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  I  had  the  pleas- 
ure of  meeting  my  friends  Messrs.  Bighter  and  Hill, 
who  from  this  time  onward  till  my  return  to  America, 
were  the  faithful  and  devoted  companions  of  my 
travel.  With  no  more  delay  than  was  necessary  to 
secure  our  rooms,  we  walked  out  to  the  Cathedral 
of  Milan,  the  pride  of  Italy!  It  is  beautiful,  too 
beautiful.  It  is  fine,  we  might  say  finical;  and  so 
many  thousand  pinnacles  start  up  into  the  air,  so 
elaborately  elegant  is  its  ornament,  and  so  profuse 
withal,  that  it  fails  to  excite  those  emotions  of  the 
sublime  and  solemn  that  we  feel  in  temples  neither 
so  vast  nor  so  costly.  But  it  is  a  creation  of  art 
beyond  all  description  to  convey  the  impression  it 
makes  on  the  mind.  The  interior  is  more,  far  more 
imposing.  Those  huge  columns,  so  many  and  so 
strong,  holding  up  that  immense  dome  and  cupola, 
produce  a  powerful  effect,  which  would  be  still  greater 
were  it  not  for  the  trifling  ornaments  with  which  even 
the  interior  abounds.  A  procession  of  priests,  some 
of  them  in  red  cloaks  and  under  a  canopy  borne  by 
boys,  was  marching  across  the  vast  area  as  I  entered ; 
services  were  in  progress  in  two  or  three  chapels,  but 
there  was  room  for  a  standing  army  besides.  Behind 
the  high  altar,  on  tablets,  were  long  lists  of  the  pre- 
cious relics  belonging  to  this  cathedral ;  among  them,  I 
remember   the  towel  with  which  Christ  washed   the 


MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO.  35 

Relics  and  statue*  The  Last  Supper. 

feet  of  the  disciples,  part  of  the  purple  robe  with 
which  he  was  clad,  four  of  the  thorns  of  his  crown, 
one  of  the  crucifying  nails,  and  part  of  the  spear;  a 
stone  from  the  holy  sepulchre,  teeth  from  the  heads  of 
Abraham,  Daniel,  John,  and  Elisha ;  the  rod  of  Moses, 
and  bones  of  nearly  all  the  Apostles  and  a  host  of 
martyrs. 

Seven  thousand  statues  already  completed,  adorn 
this  house,  and  three  thousand  more  are  yet  to  be 
added.  An  old  man,  at  a  little  door,  for  a  shilling, 
gives  you  the  privilege  of  climbing  to  the  roof,  where 
a  complete  garden  regales  the  eye,  and  one  of  the 
widest  and  loveliest  prospects  in  Italy  appears.  My 
young  friends  returned  to  see,  from  this  height,  the 
sunrise  in  the  morning,  and  they  were  in  ecstasies  at 
the  sight.  It  is  a  world  of  beauty  ;  but  in  the  midst 
of  the  starry  pinnacles  of  this  roof,  the  world  with  its 
Alps,  and  its  plains,  and  its  rising  sun,  was  more 
transportingly  beautiful  than  they  had  ever  dreamed 
of. 

In  the  refectory  of  an  old  monastery,  on  the  wall, 
is  a  painting  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  the  most  cele- 
brated of  any  painting  in  the  world,  and  now  passing 
away  forever.  The  monks  themselves  commenced 
the  work  of  its  destruction,  by  cutting  a  door  through 
the  wall  on  which  it  is  done.  When  jNTapoleon  had 
possession  of  Milan,  this  monastery  was  used  for  bar- 
racks, and  this  room  for  a  stable.  Time,  damp, 
smoke,  steam,  violence,  have  all  done  their  worst 
upon  "  The  Last  Supper  ;"  but  there  it  is ;  and 
more  than  any  other  painting  in  Europe,  I  had  de- 


36  EUIIOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Leonardo  da  Yinci.  Arch  of  Peace. 

sired  to  see  this  "before  I  came  from  home.  It  has 
been  copied  and  engraved  until  every  one  knows  the 
picture.  The  head  of  the  Christ  is  the  only  head 
that  ever  came  up  to  my  conception  of  my  Saviour's. 
Rubens  and  Raphael  never  satisfied.  But  here  was 
majesty  mingled  with  sorrow;  love  and  pity,  God 
and  Man  so  blended,  that,  dimmed  and  fading  as  it  is, 
I  could  cry  out  before  it,  My  Lord  and  my  God! 
We  all  sat  down  before  it,  and  in  silence  and  tears 
gazed  on  the  scene.  The  loving  John,  the  impulsive 
Peter,  the  infernal  Traitor;  they  are  true  to  nature, 
and  drawn  with  the  hand  of  consummate  skill.  Da 
Yinci  was  a  painter ;  yet  this  was  far  from  being  his 
chief  glory.  He  was  a  statesman  and  a  practical 
man,  contriving  and  carrying  out  great  plans  for  the 
benefit  of  his  country ;  and  to  this  it  must  be  owing 
that  he  who  could  paint  perhaps  as  well  as  any  man 
who  ever  lived,  has  left  so  few  works  by  which  his 
fame  is  to  be  preserved.  "  The  Last  Supper"  is  now 
nearly  gone,  and  the  next  generation  will  know  it  only 
in  history. 

Leaving  this  old  monastery,  we  sought  the  amphi- 
theatre, where,  in  the  days  of  the  old  Romans,  thirty 
thousand  persons  could  sit  down  and  look  at  the 
gladiators  in  the  arena  below.  It  is  in  admirable 
preservation ;  and  within  a  few  years,  when  princes 
have  been  the  guests  of  the  city,  the  vast  area  has 
been  flooded,  and  naval  spectacles  exhibited. 

The  Arch  of  Peace  is  one  of  the  handsomest  gates 
in  Europe ;  but  its  allegories  are  too  recondite  to  tell 
their  story  to  the  dull,  and  we  had  not  time  to  study 


MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO.  37 

Hospital.  Dr.  Capelli. 

them  out  with  a  book.  Full  of  old  convents,  the 
funds  of  some  of  them  having  been  sequestrated,  and 
the  establishments  broken  up,  Milan  is  an  interesting- 
city  to  explore.  I  visited  one  of  the  hospitals  where 
2800  persons  were  in  as  many  beds,  well  cared  for,  as 
if  there  were  but  a  hundred  only ;  and  this  immense 
establishment  is  supported  by  private  charity — one  of 
the  most  complete  and  benevolent  institutions  in  the 
world.  The  system  was  quite  as  perfect  as  that  in 
Paris.  Over  the  head  of  each  patient  was  his  name 
and  disease,  and  the  directions  of  the  physician  care- 
fully recorded.  Sisters  of  Charity  were  in  attendance, 
ministering  at  all  times  with  unflagging  zeal.  The 
wards  were  clean,  and  so  well  ventilated  that  no  of- 
fensive smell  was  observed.  Contentment  and  grati- 
tude were  marked  on  the  faces  of  many  of  these  suf- 
ferers. In  the  department  for  women  a  fair  girl  was 
lying,  fit  to  be  a  model  of  the  Virgin  Mary ;  or,  better 
still,  for  the  Magdalen.  The  good  Dr.  Capelli,  who 
was  with  me,  addressed  a  few  words  of  comfort  to 
her,  and  a  smile  of  thanks  played  for  a  moment  on 
her  snowy  face,  and  I  thought  as  I  turned  away,  that 
she  perhaps  would  never  smile  again.  Dr.  Capelli 
is  a  capital  physician,  and  a  man  of  learning  and  tal- 
ents, into  whose  hands  it  is  a  great  blessedness  for  a 
sick  traveller  to  fall.  In  consequence  of  my  impru- 
dence in  the  use  of  grapes,  which  prove  to  be  very 
bad  this  season,  I  had  occasion  to  send  for  him ;  and 
with  my  gratitude  for  his  kindness  and  skill,  I  delight 
to  record  his  name,  that  if  any  are  following  my  foot- 
steps in  this  pilgrimage,  they  may  know  on  whom  to 


38  EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Austrian  police.  Impertinence. 

call,  if,  like  me,  they  stand  in  need  of  a  medical  man. 
He  can  be  readily  readied  from  any  of  the  hotels. 

I  had  spent  four  or  five  days  in  Milan,  and  had  to 
depart  in  the  morning  at  six  o'clock.  It  was  now 
nearly  ten  o'clock  at  night,  and  Antonio  came  rush- 
ing to  my  room,  to  tell  me  that  I  was  wanted  at  the 
office  of  the  police,  and  could  not  have  my  passport 
without  appearing  in  person.  I  told  him  to  get  me 
a  carriage  in  all  haste,  and  we  would  go.  But  the 
carnages  were  off  the  stands,  and  we  had  to  set  off 
on  foot,  to  walk  or  run  a  mile,  to  get  there  before  the 
door  was  shut.  The  Austrian  soldiers  were  patroll- 
ing the  silent  and  deserted  streets  as  we  hastened  on, 
and  just  as  the  last  official  was  leaving  the  post,  we 
reached  the  office.  He  was  in  a  great  rage  at  being 
called  back,  and  swore  terribly ;  but  I  handed  Anto- 
nio half  a  dollar,  which  he  slipped  into  the  angry 
man's  hands,  and  it  had  the  natural  effect  of  quiet- 
ing his  nerves,  and  helping  him  to  find  my  passport, 
and  hand  it  over  to  me  all  right.  So,  with  increased 
contempt  for  Austrian  officialism,  I  was  prepared  to 
get  out  of  Milan. 

"Is  that  gentleman  an  Italian?''  asked  a  young 
English  traveller  of  my  companion,  as  we  were  sitting 
in  the  rail-carriage  about  to  start  for  Monza  and  Lake 
Como.  He  referred  to  me,  and  presuming  that  I  did 
not  understand  English,  inquired  if  I  was  an  Italian. 
Rankin  told  him  "No,'' and  so  decidedly,  that  I  thought 
his  inrpiisitiveness  would  not  tempt  him  to  ask  again. 

"  Is  he  a  Frenchman  ?"  he  demanded.  "  No,  he  is 
not  a  Frenchman,"  said  my  friend. 


MILAN    AND     LAKE     COMO.  39 

Iron  Crown.  Como. 

"  You  will  please  to  tell  me  of  what  country  he  is  ;" 
but  Rankin  and  I  exchanged  looks,  and  the  anxious 
inquirer  was  not  gratified. 

He  became  a  very  troublesome  companion,  and  we 
found  it  hard  to  shake  him  off.  Passing  rapidly 
through  the  town  of  Monza,  where  Napoleon  received 
the  Iron  Crown,  we  reached  Como  before  night,  and 
had  time  to  visit  its  ancient  and  imposing  Cathedral, 
a  noble  specimen  of  the  Lombard  architecture  of  the 
Middle  Ages.  The  sculptures  in  bas-relief  on  the  out- 
side of  the  towers  that  rise  up  in  majestic  proportions 
from  the  street,  are  of  exquisite  workmanship  ;  the 
Flight  into  Egypt,  the  Adoration  of  the  Magi,  and 
various  flowers  are  wrought  in  stone  with  surprising 
skill  and  effect.  The  village  is  noted  as  the  birth- 
place of  Pliny  the  younger;  and  both  the  Plinys 
wrote  from  the  shores  of  this  charming  lake.  A  noble 
statue  stands  in  a  public  square,  of  Yolta,  who  was 
born  here.  We  had  been  riding  through  a  rich  coun- 
try, with  vines  and  olives  abounding,  and  maize, 
peaches,  and  fruits  of  various  kinds  ;  in  the  midst  of 
these  gardens  and  vineyards  were  beautiful  villas,  and 
off  at  the  left  the  Alps  stood  with  their  sharp,  clear- 
cut  edges  against  the  sky,  like  ebony  on  ivory.  And 
now  we  were  in  the  midst  of  hills  that  seemed  to  be 
holding  in  their  bosom  a  placid  lake,  sin-rounded  with 
old  castles  and  picturesque  ruins.  The  atmosphere 
was  so  clear,  the  climate  so  genial,  that  existence  was 
a  luxury.  We  lingered  about  the  cathedral  till  sun- 
set, and  then  walked  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  re- 
joicing in  the  loveliness  of  nature,  and  wishing  those 


40  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Many,  tongues.  On  the  lake, 

we  loved  were  with  us  to  share  the  enjoyment  of  such 
an  evening  in  Italy. 

Our  inquisitive  Englishman  fortunately  found  quar- 
ters at  another  hotel,  so  that  we  hoped  to  be  free  from 
his  questions  ;  hut  after  supper  he  came  over  to  our 
house,  and  fastened  himself  upon  us  like  a  leech. 

"  It  was  very  remark#2/jble,"  he  said,  "  that  no  less 
than  eight  differ-rent  languages  were  spoken  at  our 
table  to-night,  but  I  was  fortunately  able  to  converse 
in  them  all ;  one  lady  addressed  me  in  Hindoostanee, 
and  as  I  spent  a  year  in  India,  I  replied  to  her  at  once 
— it  was  very  lucky,  was  it  not  ?"  This  speech  was 
set  off  with  two  or  three  oaths  to  make  it  more  racy, 
and  we  left  him  as  soon  as  we  could. 

The  next  morning  we  embarked  on  a  little  steam- 
er, to  make  an  excursion  on  the  loveliest  of  lakes. 
Fifty  gondolas,  with  then*  sharp  noses  resting  on  the 
sand,  invited  us  to  their  crimson  cushions  around  a 
little  table  under  a  canopy,  where  parties  of  pleasure 
might  amuse  themselves  with  cards,  or  refresh  them- 
selves with  ices,  as  they  were  rowed  swiftly  over  the 
yielding  waves ;  but  we  were  going  too  far  for  them, 
and  preferred  the  steamboat.  Quite  a  number  of 
priests  were  among  the  passengers,  and  some  of  them 
with  short  breeches,  long  coats,  and  shoe-buckles, 
made  a  grotesque  appearance,  but  in  the  style  of  our 
own  olden  times.  My  Russian  General  and  his  party 
met  me  with  great  demonstrations  of  pleasure,  and 
hoped  we  should  travel  together  all  the  season.  In 
the  course  of  the  day  they  learned  my  intentions  to 
go  down  into  Egypt,   and   expressed  their  great   re- 


MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO.  41 

Summer  houses.  Monaster}-. 

grets  that  they  could  not  all  go  with  me  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  Truly,  thought  I,  this  son  of  the  North 
is  as  warm  as  if  he  had  been  born  in  France  or  Italy. 

The  beauties  of  Lake  Como  began  to  open  upon 
the  sight  as  soon  as  we  put  off  from  the  shore.  In 
all  the  dreams  I  have  ever  had  of  the  lovely  in  natu- 
ral scenery,  I  never  saw,  even  in  fancy,  any  thing 
that  excelled  the  charming  views  I  caught,  as  we 
passed  along  the  bosom  of  this  placid  sheet  of  water. 
Not  princes  and  men  of  wealth  only,  but  artists,  and 
those  artists  whose  talents  on  the  stage  and  whose 
gifts  of  song  have  made  them  famous  all  over  the 
world,  have  chosen  the  borders  of  Lake  Como  for 
their  summer  residence,  and  their  beautiful  villas  and 
seats,  rejoicing  in  the  name  of  palaces,  are  planted  on 
the  rising  hills,  surrounded  with  every  embellishment, 
and  looking  to  be  the  abode  of  elegant  ease  and  re- 
fined enjoyment.  How  well  they  answer  their  out- 
ward appearance,  it  is  not  for  us  to  know.  From 
these  villas  a  gondola  would  shoot  out  into  the  Lake, 
and  our  steamer  would  pause  and  deliver  a  party  of 
friends  to  be  conveyed  to  the  shore,  and  welcomed  by 
those  in  waiting  for  them.  A  narrow  pass  admitted  us 
into  the  main  body  of  the  waters,  and  now  the  mount- 
ains rise  suddenly  from  the  shore,  terraces  covered 
with  rich  foliage  and  fruit  hang  above  us,  and  at  times 
I  could  believe  this  was  the  long-talked-of  fairy  land. 

A  monastery  on  the  rocky  shore,  to  which  steps 
lead  up  by  a  path  lined  with  shrubs  and  flowers, 
seemed  fitted  to  be  the  abode  of  religious  seclusion. 
On  the  walls  and  among  the  rocks  around  it   were 


42  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Maid  on  the  wall.  Beautiful  garden. 

statues  of  monks,  and  popes,  and  ever  so  many- 
saints,  which  the  "boatman  contemplated  with  vene- 
ration. Through  a  constant  succession  of  these  scenes, 
in  which  art  and  nature  vied  with  each  other  in  lavish- 
ing "beauties,  we  rushed  on  for  a  couple  of  hours  till 
we  came  to  Cadanabhia.  Here  we  landed,  and  were 
at  once  received  into  one  of  the  many  gondolas  wait- 
ing for  us,  and  were  rowed  over  to  JBellajio,  on  the 
opposite  shore.  Near  the  shore  was  a  garden  with 
a  high  wall  surrounding  it,  and  lemon  trees  hang- 
ing over  it  laden  with  fruit.  A  maid  with  a  wide- 
rimmed  hat  stood  on  the  wall  arranging  the  vines  ;  she 
seemed  herself  to  be  adorning  the  parapet,  as  a  beau- 
tiful statue  could  not  have  done.  In  France  and 
Italy  they  adopt  this  plan  on  some  great  occasions, 
when  triumphal  arches  have  been  extemporaneously 
erected,  and  handsome  women,  alive  but  still,  have 
stood  in  the  niches  instead  of  marble. 

We  had  come  over  here  to  visit  the  Selbelloni  pal- 
ace and  grounds.  Ascending  a  long,  paved  carriage- 
way some  ten  minutes,  we  came  to  the  gate,  which 
was  opened  by  the  same  girl  I  had  seen  on  the  wall 
below.  She  was  to  be  our  guide  over  the  place. 
The  conception  and  the  execution  of  this  garden  were 
remarkable.  A  conical  hill  had  been  terraced  com- 
pletely around,  and  spiral  walks  led  us  along  upward 
to  the  successive  levels.  The  flowers  and  fruits  of 
the  various  zones  were  arranged  in  the  ascending 
order,  bringing  us  into  new  and  sudden  varieties,  as 
if  Ave  had  stepped  from  one  latitude  of  the  earth  into 
another.     Lake  Como  is  on  one  side  of  this  hill,  and 


MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO.  43 

Telescopic  view.  Astounding  proposal 

Lecco  on  the  other,  and  before  we  reach  the  summit, 
we  come  to  a  tunnel  500  feet  long,  and  in  the  shape 
of  a  rainbow,  piercing  through  the  hill,  so  that  we 
walk  on  in  the  twilight  till  we  come  to  the  centre, 
from  which,  as  through  a  tube  250  feet  long,  we  look 
out  each  way.  To  the  east  of  us  is  Lake  Lecco,  a 
beautiful  sheet  of  water.  On  the  other  side  is  Lake 
Como,  and  the  tunnel  has  been  made  so  as  just  to 
take  into  its  scope  a  palace  away  across  on  the  west- 
ern shore.  This  was  like  the  work  of  magic,  surely. 
We  emerged  on  the  eastern  side,  and  came  around  to 
a  summer-house  on  the  brow  of  an  awful  precipice 
overhanging  the  lake,  whence  we  could  see  the  distant 
mountains  capped  with  snow,  and  the  great  pass  of 
the  Splugen  leading  us  back  to  the  Switzerland  we 
had  left.  Descending  by  a  winding  pathway  on  the 
Lecco  side,  we  came  through  the  tropical  groves,  the 
tall  palms,  and  the  prickly  cactus ;  we  rested  our- 
selves in  grottoes  with  flowery  bowers  in  front  of 
them,  and  cool  waters  trickling  down  the  rocks  under 
which  we  sat. 

It  was  in  one  of  these  that  my  Russian  General  as- 
tounded me  with  a  proposition.  If  he  had  asked  me 
to  join  his  regiment,  or  to  recommend  him  to  the 
Commander  of  the  United  States  Army,  I  should  not 
have  been  surprised.  But  he  was  on  quite  a  different 
track. 

"My  daughter  shall  go  with  you  to  Egypt,"  he 
said,  very  insinuatingly. 

"Ah,"  said  I,  "then  you  are  thinking  of  going 
there?" 


44  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Beating  a  retreat  Stores  of  ait 

"No,  no;  my  wife  and  I  not  go;  my  daughter 
shall  go  with  you."' 

"But  I  must  consult  my  wife  first,  "before  I  go  to 
Egypt  with  another  man's  daughter,"  I  replied,  very 
good-naturedly. 

"Oh,  you  have  a  wife  in  America!"  he  cried  out, 
"  then  she  shall  go  with  you,  and  you  shall  take  her 
to  America,  and  she  shall  get  husband  there  and  live 
there.  So  I  will  have  her,  and  you  will  take  care  of 
her." 

I  found  the  old  General  had  a  serious  intention  of 
confiding  his  daughter  to  my  tender  mercies,  and  I 
had  to  resort  to  some  generalship  to  get  rid  of  her. 
Sorry  I  am  to  say  it,  hut  my  skill  was  displayed  in 
beating  a  quiet  retreat  as  soon  as  possible,  and  get- 
ting out  of  reach  of  the  old  man's  importunity  and  the 
fascinations  of  the  young  lady,  who  would  have  gone 
with  me  in  a  moment  had  I  encouraged  the  proposal. 

A  mile  below,  on  the  same  side  of  the  lake,  is  the 
Melzi  villa,  and  all  along  the  shore,  as  we  swept 
down  in  our  gondola,  are  shady  groves  and  marble 
statues  standing  in  the  green :  a  splendid  monument 
to  Dante  is  near  the  villa.  Within  were  the  richest 
stores  of  art  that  I  had  ever  seen  gathered  in  private 
halls.  Gems  by  the  old  masters,  and  the  master- 
pieces of  modern  genius  :  a  holy  family  by  Correggio, 
and  a  Bacchante  by  Thorwalsden,  mosaic  tables  from 
Florence,  and  ancient  statuary  from  Borne  and  Athens ; 
and  these  in  successive  chambers  arrayed  with  such 
exquisite  taste,  that  it  seemed  intruding  to  be  walk- 
ing in  the  midst  of  thorn  with  the  freedom  of  home. 


MILAN     AND     LAKE     COMO.  45 

A  paradise.  Interrogative  Englishman. 

On  the  opposite  shore  the  Princess  Carlotta  has  a 
palace  at  Summa-Biva,  and  we  shot  across  in  a  boat, 
and  were  cheerfully  admitted  to  its  treasures.  A 
noble  fountain  in  the  midst  of  the  grounds  in  front, 
was  throwing  up  its  waters  into  the  sunlight,  and 
they  were  falling  like  great  diamonds  around  us.  We 
found  the  collections  of  statues  and  paintings  more 
extensive  but  not  so  select  as  at  the  Melzi  villa.  The 
dying  Attila  receiving  the  sacrament  from  a  Capuchin 
monk  by  moonlight,  and  the  wafer  illuminating  the 
picture,  I  admired  greatly ;  and  the  Thorwalsden 
marbles  in  bas-relief  are  said  to  be  his  noblest  works. 
As  I  came  out  from  this  palace  into  the  beautiful 
grounds,  adorned  with  all  manner  of  trees  and  plants 
and  parterres  of  flowers  to  delight  the  eyes — figs  and 
apricots,  and  luscious  grapes  hanging  by,  and  statues 
of  breathing  marble  standing  in  the  midst  of  them 
like  our  first  parents  in  Eden — it  was  verily  like  be- 
ing in  an  Oriental  paradise.  We  dined  at  a  hotel 
near  the  palace,  and  my  English  exquisite  and  inquis- 
itive distinguished  himself  at  table  by  his  impertinent 
questions.  As  we  were  returning  in  the  boat  to 
Como,  two  English  gentlemen  sitting  near  me  were 
conversing,  when  one  remarked, 

"What  an  interrogative  turn  of  mind  that  young 
man  appears  to  have." 

"Yes,"  said  the  other,  "so  much  so  that  I  thought 
he  must  be  an  American !" 

Some  other  people  besides  Yankees  are  given  to 
asking  questions. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

VERONA MANTUA — VENICE. 

Posting  it  —  Breschia — Roman  Antiquities — Lake  di  Garda  —  The 
Peasantry — Verona — Lords  and  Tombs — Frescoes — The  Amphi- 
theatre— Mantua — The  Scenes  of  the  Georgics — Ducal  Palace — 
No  Virgil — An  Italian  Sunset — The  Queen  of  the  Adriatic — Cause- 
way—  Custom-house  —  Gondolas  —  Canals  —  San  Marc  —  Piazza 
— Church — Piazzetta — Sleep  and  Dreams. 

We  left  Milan  early  in  the  morning,  and  came  by 
the  way  of  Breschia  and  Mantua,  Verona  and  Padua. 
Although  I  had  run  away  from  the  Russian  General 
and  his  daughter,  my  party  now  consisted  of  four,  and 
we  posted  it  through  the  country.  At  Breschia  we 
had  our  first  sight  of  Roman  Antiquities,  and  in  mute 
wonder  we  stood  and  gazed  upon  the  disinterred  tem- 
ple, whose  columns  projecting  from  the  ground  had 
long  suggested  the  probability  that  they  belong  to  a 
buried  structure.  The  perseverance  of  an  old  anti- 
quary finally  succeeded  in  bringing  the  temple  to  the 
light  of  day,  with  numerous  relics,  which  he  has  ar- 
ranged in  the  Museum  now  preserved  on  the  spot. 
The  tombstones  and  epitaphs,  the  altars  and  capitals, 
were  all  the  more  interesting  to  us,  as  we  were  but 
just  entering  upon  these  wonders  of  the  dead  past. 

That  night  we  lodged  in  a  village  called  Denzen- 
zano,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  di  Garda,  along  which 
we  rode   at   sunrise   the   next   morning,    and   looked 


VEltONA MANTUA VENICE.  47 

Laziness.  Borneo  and  Juliet. 

across  upon  the  blue  mountains  and  the  promontory 
of  Sermione,  where  we  can  see  the  ruins  of  the  villa 
of  Catullus.  The  whole  country  is  a  garden  of  "beauty 
through  which  we  are  passing;  and  in  the  soft  balmy 
air  of  the  morning  we  are  rejoicing,  as  we  talk  of  the 
men  who  were  here  two  thousand  years  ago,  and  were 
a  nobler  race  by  far  than  those  we  see  at  their  daily 
toil.  The  teamsters  we  meet  are  lying  on  a  board 
swung  underneath  their  carts,  and  there,  the  image  of 
laziness,  they  ride,  leaving  their  horses  to  guide  them- 
selves. Frequently  we  pass  small  villages,  not  worth 
the  name  ;  lazy  men  and  dirty  women  hanging  around 
the  doors  of  the  cafe,  and  now  and  then  a  company 
of  soldiers  seem  to  be  striving  to  kill  time  hanging 
heavily  on  their  hands. 

Yerona  has  been  a  city  of  strength  and  renown  in 
its  day,  and  now  is  not  without  its  interest.  The 
tombs  of  the  old  Lords  of  Yerona  are  a  curious  memo- 
rial of  ancient  sculpture  and  ancient  crimes.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  this  city,  Marius  fought  his  famous 
battle  against  the  Cimbri,  and  here  Theodoric  the 
Great  won  his  great  victory  over  Odoacer.  Here  too 
we  searched  among  the  traditionary  ruins  till  we 
found  the  tomb  of  Romeo  and  Juliet,  and  summoned 
all  needful  credulity  to  believe  the  story  of  the  books. 
But  there  was  no  doubt  about  the  Amphitheatre,  the 
most  perfectly  preserved  of  all  the  remains  of  Ro- 
man magnificence.  In  the  form  of  an  ellipse,  and 
with  forty  successive  tiers  of  granite  seats,  for  twenty- 
five  thousand  persons,  it  presents  an  imposing  sight 
even  now  that  the  whole  race  who  once  tluonged  it 


48  EUBOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Martyr  scenes.  Paul  Veronese. 

are  buried.  A  cluster  of  miserable  houses  is  built 
against  the  foundations,  which  we  passed  through, 
beneath  massive  mason-work  of  immense  blocks  of 
stone,  forming  the  dungeons  in  which  the  wild  beasts 
were  confined  before  they  were  let  loose  upon  each 
other  or  the  human  victims  ;  and  if  we  had  not  known 
the  purposes  for  which  they  were  constructed,  we 
might  believe  that  we  were  in  some  infernal  region 
from  which  escape  is  impossible.  The  ground  in  the 
centre  of  this  arena  has  doubtless  drunk  the  blood  of 
martyrs.  Now,  a  company  of  strolling  players  are  re- 
hearsing a  farce  for  the  evening  entertainment  of  a  few 
hundred  people  who  will  hover  in  one  corner  of  this 
mighty  hall,  open  always  to  the  heavens,  and  in  this 
delicious  climate  all  the  more  pleasant  because  thus 
exposed. 

The  churches  of  Verona  are  distinguished  even  in 
Italy  for  their  magnificence,  and  in  St.  George  I  saw 
a  picture  by  Paul  Veronese,  which  is  kept  vailed,  but 
the  sacristan,  for  a  trifle,  drew  the  curtain  and  dis- 
played a  painting  of  extraordinary  power.  The  fres- 
coes on  some  of  the  outer  walls  of  the  old  buildings 
show  that  here  has  been  the  luxury  of  art  in  departed 
days,  and  one  can  not  but  mourn  as  he  sees  them 
fading,  the  last  remnants  of  expiring  beauty,  and  when 
gone,  impossible  to  be  restored.  With  the  same  sort 
of  feelings  I  looked  upon  the  old  carvings  on  the  an- 
cient gateways,  which  were  here  when  the  men  of 
Rome  were  marching  in  arms  to  subdue  the  provinces 
of  the  North,  and  which  seem  to  be  good  for  as  many 
vears  to  come. 


VERONA — MANTUA  —  VENICE.  49 


Pilgrimage  to  Mantua. 


There  is  a  railway  from  Vienna  to  Mantua,  and  we 
could  not  resist  the  temptation  to  pay  a  visit,  a  pil- 
grimage indeed,  to  the  birth-place  of  Virgil — his  own 
Mantua.  It  was  a  charming  excursion,  over  a  plain 
that  was  loaded  with  rich  abundance,  and  watered  by 
artificial  canals.  We  could  not  but  think  of  the 
Greorgics  and  Bucolics  having  been  composed  with 
these  very  fields  in  view,  and  here  the  various  experi- 
ments in  agriculture  so  poetically  commended  had 
been  tested.  The  old  town  has  all  the  signs  of  de- 
cay. The  cathedral  has  statues  of  prophets  and  sibyls, 
Christian  and  pagan,  before  the  same  altar.  The  Du- 
cal Palace,  once  the  seat  of  almost  fabulous  grandetu-, 
is  now  a  deserted  mansion,  into  which  a  surly  porter 
admitted  us,  and  reluctantly  led  us  through  as  many 
of  the  five  hundred  rooms  as  we  had  time  and  patience 
to  visit.  Yet  on  every  wall  and  in  every  hall  were 
the  works  of  masters  ;  frescoes  of  wondrous  strength 
and  effect.  One  of  these  was  the  Parnassus,  in  which 
the  poets  were  painted  as  the  Muses,  and  Apollo  and 
Venus,  and  all  the  gods  and  goddesses  appear.  An- 
other hall  was  embellished  with  scenes  from  the  siege 
of  Troy,  the  iEneid  of  Virgil  done  on  the  wall,  as  in 
Carthage  when  the  hero  of  the  iEneid  arrived.  I 
inquired  at  all  the  book-stores  for  a  copy  of  Virgil 
printed  in  the  city  that  boasts  his  birth,  but  my  in- 
quiries were  all  in  vain.  I  believe  that  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  get  up  a  Mantuan  edition,  and  if  it  were 
published  it  would  be  a  literary  curiosity.  It  is  a  half 
hour's  ride  by  carriage  from  the  city  to  the  railway 
station.  The  sun  was  declining  as  we  rode :  and  we 
Vol.  II— C 


50  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Italian  sunset.  Venice  in  view. 

had  an  Italian  sunset  of  which  we  have  read  so  much  ; 
and  now  I  am  ready  from  actual  observation  to  speak 
of  it  as  compared  with  sunsets  at  home.  The  whole 
western  firmament  was  an  ocean  of  .gold.  Some  clouds 
of  blue  in  the  upper  sky,  with  silver  edging,  lay  on 
this  yellow  ground,  and  there  was  such  softness  and 
deliciousness  in  the  atmosphere,  that  we  gazed  with 
rapture.  We  turned  and  looked  eastward.  The  sky 
was  tinged  with  pink.  In  the  midst  of  the  scene  was 
the  dome  of  St.  Andrews,  the  tower  of  della  Gabia, 
and  the  forked  battlements  of  Mantua  standing  out 
with  the  last  rays  of  the  sun  lingering  on  them. 
And  the  associations  were  so  rich,  pastoral,  poetic, 
historical,  that  we  stood,  four  of  us,  upright  in  the 
carriage  and  rejoiced  together  in  the  gorgeous  spectacle. 

The  next  day  we  left  Verona  by  rail,  and  passing 
through  Padua  without  stopping,  we  swept  on  over  a 
level  and  uninteresting  country,  till  the  domes  of 
Venice,  the  Queen  of  the  Adriatic,  rose,  as  from  the 
midst  of  the  sea.  Until  the  long  causeway  was  made 
for  the  railroad,  the  approach  was  only  by  boats,  but 
now  we  were  borne  along  for  two  miles  and  a 
half  over  a  narrow  but  noble  pathway  of  massive 
masonry,  and  reached  the  terminus  of  the  rail.  All 
former  overhaulings  of  luggage  were  forgotten  in 
comparison  with  that  to  which  we  were  subjected 
here.  My  note-book  puzzled  the  official  for  a  long- 
time, but  he  finally  gave  it  back  to  me,  and  we  were 
set  at  liberty. 

No  cabs  and  carriages  stood  about  the  doors.  A 
radc   mob    of  watermen,   however,    as   clamorous   as 


VERONA MANTUA VENICE.  51 

The  gondola.  Watery  ways. 

Albany  cabmen  (none  worse  infest  this  earth),  seized 
us  and  our  luggage  very  much  as  the  lions  did  the 
enemies  of  Daniel,  "  or  ever  they  came  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  den." 

The  gondolas  of  Venice !  Fifty  of  them  were  in 
waiting,  from  the  omnibus,  actually  so  marked  upon 
its  side,  to  the  tiniest  craft.  They  were  not  the  gay 
pleasuring  barges  that  I  had  fancied  :  all  of  them 
black,  with  a  close  canopy  over  the  centre.  We  step 
into  this  and  find  luxurious  cushions  on  which  to  re- 
cline, and  you  may  draw  the  curtains  close  or  have 
them  open,  as  you  like.  Instantly  we  were  gliding 
along  so  silently  that  we  seemed  to  be  moved  by  an 
unseen  hand,  the  gondolier  standing  on  the  stern  of 
the  boat,  and  never  speaking  but  to  give  warning  as 
he  is  about  to  sweep  around  the  corner  of  the  watery 
street,  to  prevent  collision.  In  some  of  these  narrow 
ways  we  were  crowded  as  closely  as  the  carriages  in 
Broadway,  and  again  we  glide  along  for  some  minutes 
in  a  cross  way,  with  not  a  single  boat  in  company. 
Above  us,  in  the  windows  of  the  houses  that  rise  from 
the  borders  of  the  canals,  women  are  sitting  amusing 
themselves  or  at  work;  and  it  was  hard  to  believe 
that  we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  great  city,  that  is  swim- 
ming here,  and  unlike  any  thing  else  in  the  way  of  a 
city  that  was  ever  seen  before.  Soon  we  entered  a 
broader  canal — magnificent  palaces,  with  strange  and 
beautiful  architecture,  and  we  knew  that  we  were  on 
the  Grand  Canal.  Winding  its  way  around  the  city, 
it  brought  us  out  at  last  on  the  Lagoon,  and  to  the 
marble  steps  of  the  ancient  palace  of  the  Giustinani, 


52  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


now  the  Hotel  Eueopa.  We  do  not  leave  the  gon- 
dola till  we  learn  that  we  can  have  rooms  to  look  out 
on  the  waters,  the  islands  lying  off  in  front,  and 
crowned  with  palaces  and  the  domes  of  temples. 

And  now  we  are  in  Venice.  "We  hasten  from  the 
hotel  to  St.  Mark's  Place,  the  grandest  square  in  the 
world.  I  can  scarcely  say  to  what  this  effect  is  due, 
but  one  feels  in  the  midst  of  it  as  if  in  a  blaze  of 
architectural  glory.  As  we  entered  from  the  eastern 
side,  the  church  of  St.  Mark  was  full  in  front  of  us 
on  the  west,  with  its  several  domes,  impressing  us  at 
once  with  its  Oriental  type :  the  long  range  of  palatial 
residences  for  the  former  chiefs  of  the  State  on  the 
right  hand,  and  brilliant  shops  and  stately  buildings 
on  the  left;  the  Campanile  tower  rising  from  the 
pavement  of  monumental  marble,  surmounting  the 
city,  and  looking  away  off  to  sea.  At  right  angles  to 
the  square  is  the  Piazzetta,  a  place  of  less  extent, 
with  the  Doge's  palace  on  one  side,  and  open  to  the 
sea,  on  the  borders  of  which  are  the  famous  columns 
bearing  the  winged  lion,  and  the  statue  of  St.  Theo- 
dore, which  have  been  earned  off  to  Paris  and  since 
restored  to  their  places.  It  was  now  in  the  edge  of 
evening,  and  throngs  of  gay  people  were  enjoying  the 
sea  breeze  as  it  came  in  upon  the  open  square.  In- 
numerable lamps  gave  even  more  brilliancy  and  beauty 
than  the  daylight  to  the  scene.  All  the  recollections 
of  Venice,  the  city  of  the  Doges,  came  thronging  upon 
me  as  I  stood  before  the  palace,  and  thought  of  the 
tales  that  those  walls  could  tell,  had  they  but  tongues. 
To-morrow  we  will  enter  and  explore  it — for  its  mys- 


VERONA MANTUA VENICE.  53 

A  dream.  And  all  a  dream. 

teries  are  now  open  to  the  world.  But  we  have  seen 
enough  for  one  day,  and  are  actually  wearied  with  the 
excitement  of  seeing  but  the  vestibule  of  Venice. 

That  night  I  dreamed.  I  was  sad  when  I  went  to 
my  couch — sad  in  the  midst  of  this  glorious  but  de- 
parting city,  for  its  grandeur  seemed  to  be  in  decay. 
I  was  sad,  and  thoughts  of  home  were  painfully  press- 
ing on  me  when  I  sunk  to  sleep.  One  of  my  boys 
was  sick.  I  was  at  home  by  his  side.  He  was 
ghastly,  thin,  and  dying.  I  kissed  him,  and  my 
tears  dropped  on  his  cheeks.  No  word  was  said. 
My  heart  was  breaking.  I  kissed  him  again  as  he 
lay  on  his  pillow,  and  awoke — my  pillow  was  wet 
with  tears.  It  was  only  a  dream.  Sorrows  are 
dreams  as  joys  are. 


CHAPTER   V. 

VENICE. 

Stones  of  Venice — Aristocracy — Doge's  Palace — Giant's  Stairway — 
Lion's  Mouth — Council  of  Ten  —  Council  Chamber — Titian's 
"Faith" — His  "Assumption" — Dungeons — State  Prison — Bridge 
of  Sighs — Gondola — Manfrini  Palace — Foscari — Byron — Paint- 
ings— Eialto — San  Marc — Churches — A  Life  Picture. 

"  Where  on  the  whole  earth  are  stones  so  eloquent 
as  in  Venice  ?  Where  is  the  creation  of  human  hand 
that  can  "be  compared  with  this  wondrous  marble 
flower,  floating  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea  ?" 

For  more  than  a  thousand  years,  a  proud  and 
wealthy  aristocracy  reigned  in  this  strange  city,  lav- 
ishing their  gold  in  rearing  these  costly  residences, 
embellished  with  a  profusion  of  ornament  to  be  seen 
in  no  other  city  of  the  world.  It  was  built  upon 
these  islands  to  render  it  safer  from  the  assaults  of 
enemies,  and  it  is  said  that  when  the  last  of  the 
Doges,  weeping  like  a  woman,  sent  the  keys  to  Na- 
poleon, that  haughty  conqueror  was  on  the  point  of 
abandoning  the  siege  in  despair. 

Novel  and  strange  emotions  seized  me  on  stepping 
into  the  Doge's  palace.  It  was  not  a  prison,  for  the 
gorgeous  style  of  ornament  dispels  all  thought  of 
gloom,  but  it  was  so  inwrought  in  all  my  memories 
with  crime,  and  mysterious  trials,  and  sudden,  tcrri- 


VENICE.  55 

Council  of  Ten.  ^_ Lion's  Mouth. 

ble,  undiscovered  judgments,  that  a  slight  tremor 
passed  over  me  as  I  went  up  the  Scala  del  Giganti, 
beautiful  with  the  whitest  marble,  and  then  to  the 
Golden  Stairway,  where  the  lion's  mouth  once  open- 
ed to  receive  the  accusations  of  unknown  enemies, 
the  precursors  of  swift  and  remediless  ruin.  The 
audience  chamber  is  adorned  with  some  of  the  best 
productions  of  Paul  Veronese — a  spacious  apartment, 
where  the  Doges  received  in  state  the  princes  or  their 
representatives  from  foreign  lands.  In  the  Senate 
Chamber  the  very  same  furniture,  even  the  candle- 
sticks and  the  tribune  for  the  speakers,  stand  as  they 
did  in  the  days  of  the  republic.  The  "Council  of 
Ten"  sat  in  a  small  apartment  richly  adorned  with 
paintings.  It  was  once  hung  in  black,  as  well  it 
might  be ;  a  room  where  the  fate  of  thousands  was 
sealed  in  darkness  and  death.  The  very  chairs  on 
which  these  inquisitors  sat,  when  hearing  the  accusa- 
tions and  pronouncing  sentence,  we  sat  upon,  and 
were  thankful  that  we  were  not  born  to  be  judges  in 
Venice.  Kather  would  I  be  a  victim  than  a  judge  in 
such  a  court  as  once  held  its  mysterious  sessions 
here.  Out  of  it  we  step  into  a  smaller  apartment 
where  sat  the  Council  of  Three.  A  secret  passage 
communicated  with  the  "  Lion's  Mouth"  outside,  and 
through  it  they  drew  up  the  papers  that  were  dropped 
in,  containing  those  charges  the  authorship  of  which 
no  man  knew,  and  which  often  issued  in  the  arrest 
and  sudden  destruction  of  the  accused.  We  were  told 
that  the  Council  Chamber  is  the  largest  room  in  the 
world  not  supported  by  pillars.     I  am  confident  that 


56  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Titian's  best  I  nm  goons. 

it  is  not  so,  but  it  is  154  feet  long  and  74  feet  wide ; 
the  whole  of  this  width  is  occupied  with  a  single 
painting  "by  Tintoretto,  with  which  I  failed  to  be  im- 
pressed. There  was  too  much  of  it  for  its  merit.  In 
the  palace  (I  have  not  the  chamber  noted  in  which  I 
saw  it)  was  Titian's  "Faith,"  a  picture  never  to  be 
forgotten :  her  expression,  as  she  clings  to  the  cross,  is 
indescribable,  as  it  has  thus  far  proved  inimitable. 
Afterward,  in  the  Belle  Arte,  I  saw  his  "Assump- 
tion of  the  Virgin,"  by  many  placed  at  the  head  of  all 
works  of  the  pencil  now  extant.  If  it  were  not  pre- 
sumption, I  should  say  that  it  wants  lightness,  ease 
of  motion — that  we  feel  the  difficulty  of  the  ascent 
as  the  Virgin  in  her  divine  beauty  and  purity  is  rising 
on  the  clouds.  But  there  is  more  to  admire  in  the 
picture  than  in  any  other  in  Venice.  It  has  been 
copied  so  often  and  engraved,  that  the  world  is  famil- 
iar with  it. 

But  I  wanted  to  go  down  into  the  dungeons  of  this 
palace,  and  the  keeper  lighted  several  tallow  candles, 
and  led  the  way  through  long  passages  till  we  came, 
below  the  level  of  the  canals,  to  dark  vaults,  which 
had  been  lined  with  boards  to  make  them  less  damp ; 
and  there  were  boards  for  the  prisoner  to  sleep  on, 
suggestive  at  first  view  of  mercy,  but  probably  in- 
tended to  prolong  the  life  and  sufferings  of  the  cap- 
tive. The  rings  and  hooks  in  the  walls  of  some  of 
these  dungeons  were  mute  witnesses  of  torture ;  and 
the  old  custodian  showed  us  where  the  wretched  vic- 
tims were  strangled  with  a  cord. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  canal  is  the  State  Pris- 


VENICE.  57 


Bridge  of  Sighs.  Silent  city. 

on,  connected  with  the  palace  by  a  covered  stone 
bridge :  as  we  approach  it  in  a  gondola,  it  looks  like 
a  great  sarcophagus.  It  is  the  "Bridge  of  Sighs," 
so  called,  as  the  spot  where  the  prisoners  are  some- 
times allowed  to  take  the  air,  and  breathe  their  long- 
ings after  liberty.  They  are  brought  over  it  also  to 
their  trial  in  the  palace  ;  and  the  keeper  said,  "  They 
are  not  very  merry  when  they  come  out  for  such  a 
purpose,  and  they  are  less  merry  when  they  go  back 
again. " 

Tired  as  we  were  with  walking  for  some  hours 
through  this  palace,  it  was  refreshing  to  throw  one's 
self  into  a  gondola,  to  enjoy  the  poetry  of  motion  on 
water,  and  the  dreamy  pleasure  of  threading  these 
liquid  ways.  Every  house  in  Venice  can  be  reached 
both  by  water  and  by  land,  as  the  canal  touches  each 
row  on  one  side  and  the  street  on  the  other.  But 
the  boats  are  the  coaches  of  Venice.  Not  a  footstep 
of  a  horse,  not  the  sound  of  a  carriage  wheel  is  heard. 
It  is  so  still  that  sometimes  it  is  painful.  You  wish 
to  hear  the  roll  and  roar  of  business.  The  country  is 
the  place  for  quiet ;  and  you  feel  disturbed  by  the 
peace  of  the  town. 

"Where  will  you  go?"  the  gondolier  inquired. 
"Any  where;  and  tell  us  what  we  are  seeing.  Do 
you  know  the  Manfrini  Palace  ?     "Well,  put  us  there." 

Instantly  he  shot  away  from  the  Mole,  wheeled — 
no,  turned  into  the  Grand  Canal,  and  we  sank  down 
upon  the  cushions,  with  the  curtains  drawn  back  that 
we  might  see  all  that  was  to  be  seen. 

The  first  gondola  we  met  had  a  priest  and  a  coffin 
c* 


58  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Lady  making  calls.  Visit  a  palace. 

in  it :  the  black  drapery  of  the  boat  was  fitting  to  the 
service  it  was  performing.  Then  we  met  another,  in 
which  a  lady,  elegantly  dressed,  and  very  "beautiful, 
was  sitting  alone ;  going,  doubtless,  to  call  upon  her 
friends,  as  she  would  in  her  carriage,  if  in  Paris. 
Parties  of  pleasure  were  out  in  larger  gondolas, 
laughing  and  singing.  A  merry,  light-hearted  peo- 
ple the  Italians  are,  when  they  have  enough  to  eat. 

"  This  is  the  Foscari  palace :  this  is  the  Hotel  cle 
la  Ville.  Here  is  the  Pisani  palace:  will  you  stop 
and  look  at  it  V  We  had  heard  of  its  paintings,  and 
were  willing  to  see  them.  The  gondolier  brought  us 
close  to  the  steps  that  lead  down  into  the  water,  and 
stepping  off,  he  pulled  the  bell.  A  woman  answered 
it,  and  cheerfully  gave  us  admission.  The  marble 
floors  and  frescoed  walls  and  gilded  ceilings  spoke 
of  the  splendor  of  the  house;  but  it  seemed  to  be 
splendor  on  the  wane.  Up-stairs  she  led  us  into  the 
grand  saloon,  and  uncovered  a  picture  of  the  Family 
of  Darius — a  splendid  painting.  Ornaments  of  costly 
workmanship  were  standing  there,  and  old  furniture 
that  might  have  been  handed  down  from  successive 
generations.  We  left  the  palace,  and  at  the  door  en- 
countered the  family,  just  returning  from  travel.  Our 
call  was  considered  no  intrusion,  but  rather  they 
were  pleased  that  strangers  should  find  any  thing  in 
their  ancestral  halls  to  lead  them  there.  But  few  of 
these  palaces  are  now  in  possession  of  the  families 
that  reared  them.  New  men  have  bought  them : 
foreign  adventurers,  men  or  women  of  pleasure,  who 
have  cast  off  the  restraints   of  virtue   and  of  home, 


VENICE.  59 


Lord  Byron.  Manfrini  pictures. 

and  are  leading  lives  of  unbridled  libertinism  abroad. 
These  are  some  of  the  present  owners  of  the  mansions 
of  the  ancient  aristocracy  of  this  haughty  city. 

"Lord  Byron  lived  in  that  palace,"  said  the  gon- 
dolier; but  that  was  all  he  knew  of  Byron,  who  in 
Venice  abandoned  himself  to  the  wildest  licentious- 
ness, and  expressed  his  desire  to  be  buried  here,  and 
not  among  his  relatives  at  home. 

The  Manfrini  palace  is  now  a  museum  of  art,  and 
one  of  the  rarest  and  richest  of  private  collections  in 
the  world.  Byron  goes  into  raptures  over  one  or  two 
of  the  pictures.  Some  of  them  I  admired  exceedingly. 
The  gem  of  the  palace  is  a  "  Descent  from  the  Cross," 
by  Raphael — a  very  small  picture,  not  more  than  two 
feet  high,  yet  all  radiant  with  the  feeling  of  that  scene. 
"  St.  Cecilia,"  by  Carlo  Dolce,  is  very  fine  ;  he  has  be- 
come a  great  favorite  with  me.  Without  the  strength 
of  Rubens  or  Titian,  he  has  more  poetry  and  softness, 
with  a  rich  coloring  that  is  not  surpassed  by  any  of 
the  painters.  There  are  several  Titians  here  of  great 
fame  and  value.  His  Ariosto  and  Queen  of  Cyprus, 
far  from  being  among  his  greatest  works,  like  his  As- 
sumption or  Venus  at  Florence,  would  be  reckoned 
among  the  greatest,  if  those  had  not  been.  A  Pasto- 
rello,  by  Murillo,  and  a  female  portrait,  the  name  of 
which  I  have  forgotten,  but  not  the  expression,  are 
pictures  that  haunt  one  when  memory  has  an  idle 
hour.  An  Ecce  Homo,  by  Caracci,  is  one  of  those 
painfully  pleasing  things  that  draw  so  deeply  on  the 
soul :  you  do  not  admire  the  painting  in  the  midst  of 
your   sympathy  for  the  sufferer.     The  same  remark 


GO  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Poor  of  the  city. 


applies  to  Tintoretto's  "Redemption  of  a  Slave-," 
which  we  saw  in  the  Belle  Arte.  Yet  how  many  of 
the  noblest  of  human  works  are  the  representations  of 
human  suffering.  We  can  look  on  tragedy,  on  the 
stage  or  the  canvas,  admiring  the  genius  of  the  artist, 
while  we  know  that  the  suffering  is  only  in  ourselves. 
There  is  less  of  this  in  Venice  than  elsewhere.  Yen- 
ice  worships  "beauty.  Her  painters  revel  in  the  pro- 
duction of  fair  forms  and  faces,  that  seem  to  have 
risen,  like  Venus,  from  the  sea,  as  a  mother  ever 
winding  her  arms  tenderly  about  her  favorite  child. 

The  Rialto — a  glorious  old  bridge  over  the  Grand 
Canal,  where  the  men  of  business  congregate — the 
great  Exchange  of  Venice — we  passed  under  as  we 
were  returning  from  our  visit  to  the  Manfrini  pic- 
tures. Landing  here,  we  penetrated  into  some  of  the 
deepest  recesses  of  the  city,  where  the  poorest  of  the 
people  are  housed.  Wc  had  often  seen  more  wretch- 
edness in  London  and  Edinburgh  than  we  found  in 
the  vilest  quarter  of  this  city.  This  was  the  more 
surprising,  as  the  resources  of  life  must  be  fewer  in 
a  town  cut  off,  as  this  is,  from  easy  intercourse  with 
the  country,  on  which  it  must  depend  for  most  of  the 
necessaries  of  life.  "Free  and  easy"  every  body 
seemed  to  be.  The  police  were  rarely  seen,  yet  or- 
der reigned  in  every  street ;  perhaps  a  traditional  rev- 
erence for  authority  hangs  around  the  mind,  now 
that  the  Austrian  rule  has  succeeded  that  of  the 
Doges. 

And  what  of  the  churches  of  Venice  ?  The  interior 
of  St.  Mark  appeared  lined  with  gold,  as  I  entered 


VENICE.  61 


Churches  of  Vc  nice.  Plague  in  marble. 

and  walked  over  its  uneven  marble  floor.  The  ground 
on  which  it  stands  has  settled,  and  the  great  slabs 
have  broken,  and  now  lie  in  waves.  It  is  not  the 
solemn  grandeur  of  Cologne,  nor  the  unreal  beauty  of 
Milan,  but  a  stately  and  majestic  style  that  speaks  at 
once  of  Byzantium  and  the  Orient.  The  troops  were 
marching  in  to  attend  mass  when  we  entered,  and 
their  flashing  uniforms,  their  arms  and  trappings  of 
war,  made  a  strange  contrast  with  the  emblems  of 
religion,  peace  and  good-will  among,  men.  Before 
the  high  altar  these  thousands  stood  in  solid  ranks, 
kneeling  and  bowing  and  crossing  themselves  as  the 
service  proceeded,  and  the  rich  tones  of  the  organ 
swept  over  them,  now  as  the  storm  and  now  gently 
as  the  zephyrs. 

What  vast  treasures  of  rare  attraction  to  the  de- 
vout or  curious  are  gathered  in  this  temple,  it  would 
take  a  book  to  describe.  Painting  and  statuary, 
strange  allegories  wrought  in  marble,  and  statues  in 
bronze  and  in  silver,  monuments  of  porphyry  and 
gems  of  art  from  eastern  lands,  Syria,  and  Greece, 
Pagan  and  Christian,  are  alike  welcome  to  adorn  the 
house  where  papal  worship  is  celebrated. 

In  St.  Maria  del  Salute,  a  church  erected  after  the 
deliverance  of  the  city  from  a  pestilence,  is  a  remark- 
able piece  of  sculpture,  over  the  high  altar,  repre- 
senting Venice  praying  to  the  Virgin,  and  the  plague 
flying  away  in  answer  to  the  prayer.  Titian  and 
Tintoretto  have  adorned  this  temple  with  some  of  their 
noblest  works.  Eight  columns  sustain  a  dome  of 
uncommon  splendor.     In  San  Maria  Frari  is  Titian's 


62  EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Titian's  monument.  Life  Bcene. 

monument — perhaps  the  most  imposing  work  of  the 
sculptor  in  Venice — erected  in  1852  by  Ferdinand  L, 
who  has  thus  identified  his  name  with  the  prince  of 
painters.  Titian's  "Assumption  of  the  Virgin"  is 
here  copied  in  marble,  and  very  successfully,  while 
the  allegory — in  which  four  female  figures  stand  for 
the  several  Fine  Arts  paying  homage  to  the  Old  Mas- 
ter— is  exceedingly  well  done.  The  cultivated  eye 
of  art  may  find  fault  with  this  vast  elaboration,  but 
its  effect  is  powerful  upon  the  multitude.  I  am  one 
of  them. 

As  we  were  turning  to  leave  the  church,  we  passed 
a  fair  girl  kneeling  before  a  picture,  with  upturned 
eyes  and  a  countenance  rapt  in  devotion.  It  was 
as  the  face  of  a  sad  angel— a  pure  spirit  in  sorrow, 
for  some  real  or  fancied  sin.  I  stood  still  till  she  had 
said  her  prayers,  when  she  rose  and  walked  to  the 
door,  where  an  old  man,  poor  and  tottering,  was 
waiting  her  coming.  A  smile  strove  to  show  itself 
on  his  wrinkled  face,  as  she  approached  him  and 
took  his  hand,  and  they  walked  away  together,  a 
picture  of  youth  and  old  age,  of  blooming  beauty 
and  decaying  nature ;  and  the  pleasure  with  which 
they  received  the  little  charity  that  was  dropped  into 
the  hand  of  the  maiden,  showed  that  they  were  not 
unused  to  suffering,  softened  doubtless  by  mutual 
love. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

FROM     VENICE     TO     FLORENCE. 

Leave  Venice— Dissolving  Views— Padua :  its  Churches  and  Univers- 
ity— Arrest  on  the  Frontier — Ferrara — Ariosto  and  Tasso — Bo- 
logna—Guards— Robbers— Tuscany— Welcome  to  Florence  — 
Brothers  of  Mercy. 

It  was  as  hard  to  get  out  of  Venice  as  to  get  into 
it.  After  we  had  taken  our  tickets  at  the  railway 
station,  our  baggage  was  overhauled,  then  our  per- 
sons were  searched,  and  lastly,  our  passports  were  ex- 
amined and  we  were  allowed  to  depart. 

From  the  long  causeway  we  looked  hack  on  the 
city  and  grieved  that  we  should  see  it  no  more.  And 
when  we  were  off  on  the  mainland,  a  sort  of  fascina- 
tion held  us,  and  we  were  looking  behind  as  long 
as  we  could,  to  see  Venice  slowly  sinking  into  the 
seal 

A  lovely  evening — the  sun  was  not  gone — herds  of 
white  cows  were  cropping  the  meadows,  and  girls  in 
light  clothing  were  tending  them.  As  we  swept  by, 
the  girls  joined  hands  and  danced  gayly  on  the  grass. 
The  scene  was  pastoral  and  beautiful,  and  many  such 
we  saw  before  we  reached  the  Hotel  Etoile  cPOr,  at 
Padua.  This  house  I  can  commend;  for  when  I  point- 
ed to  a  reflection  in  the  hand-book  on  its  cleanliness, 
the  landlord  insisted  on  my  following  him  through  all 


64  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Galileo.  Petrarch. 

its  rooms,  even  into  the  kitchen  and  cellar,  and  I  am 
bonnd  to  say  that  a  neater  hotel  I  never  saw. 

Here  is  the  university  in  which  Galileo  was  a  pro- 
fessor eighteen  years.  They  show  one  of  his  vertebra?, 
a  genuine  relic,  no  doubt,  for  the  Italians  are  given  to 
stealing  bones,  as  well  as  inventing  them.  Here  the 
great  astronomer  performed  his  first  experiments  with 
the  telescope  and  the  pendulum.  The  tower  of  the 
university,  on  which  the  glorious  old  man  was  wont  to 
study  the  stars,  was  built  under  his  directions,  and 
bears  his  name.  Padua  was  famous  for  its  men  and 
women  of  letters,  one  of  its  old  academies  of  science 
admitting  ladies  to  membership.  "In  1847  Count 
Leopold  Ferri  died  in  this  city,  leaving  a  library  en- 
tirely composed  of  works  written  by  women,  in  various 
languages,  and  this  library  amounted  to  nearly  35,000 
volumes." 

The  churches  are  its  chief  ornaments,  and  some  of 
them  are  enriched  with  rare  and  elegant  works  of  art. 
The  bust  of  Petrarch,  once  the  canon  of  the  cathedral, 
stands  near  one  of  the  side  doors,  and  near  it  the 
tomb  of  Speroni,  the  master  of  Tasso.  The  paintings 
of  the  cathedral  are  worthy  of  attention,  particularly 
an  old  portrait  of  Petrarch,  valuable  as  the  best  me- 
morial of  the  poet  that  remains.  The  architecture 
has  nothing  to  commend  it.  The  church  of  St.  An- 
thony is  the  glory  of  the  place.  I  entered  it  at  sun- 
rise, and  hundreds  of  worshippers  were  there  before 
me,  bowing  at  the  various  shrines.  By  a  strange 
fancy,  the  interior  of  this  temple  has  been  guarded  by 
dogs,  who  are  so  faithful  to  their  trust,  that  finding 


FROM     VENICE     TO     FLORENCE.  65 

Faithful  dogs.  Frescoes  of  Giotto. 

one  night  a  man  who  had  remained  at  his  devotions 
until  the  doors  were  shut,  they  stood  one  on  each  side 
of  him,  and  never  let  him  stir  till  the  doors  were 
opened  in  the  morning.  The  church  is  celebrated  for 
its  splendid  monuments  of  illustrious  statesmen,  poets, 
and  philosophers,  as  well  as  for  the  numerous  paint- 
ings that  adorn  its  walls,  and  the  great  chandelier, 
which  Vallery  says  is  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world. 
Some  of  Titian's  "best  works  may  be  seen  in  the 
jScuola,  near  the  church  ;  two  of  them  very  curious,  as 
illustrative  of  the  state  of  morals  at  the  time  they 
were  painted,  and  perhaps  they  are  fair  portraits  of 
the  present  times. 

In  the  rear  of  a  garden  in  a  retired  part  of  the  city, 
is  the  chapel  of  the  Annunziata  nelV  Arena,  where 
the  remarkable  frescoes  of  Giotto  are  to  be  seen.  The 
walls  are  covered  with  curious  allegorical  pieces  of 
the  Virtues  and  Yices,  some  of  them  charmingly  de- 
picted, some  very  eloquent,  and  others  almost  ludi- 
crous. They  are  studied  as  among  the  best  produc- 
tions of  this  illustrious  painter.  His  "Last  Judg- 
ment" in  the  same  chapel,  is  a  work  of  great  power, 
but  now  much  faded,  as  indeed  all  these  frescoes  are. 

Several  exquisite  tombs  are  in  the  Church  of  the 
Hermits ;  one  of  a  German  baroness,  by  Canova,  so 
sweet  that  one  could  almost  wish  to  take  her  place. 
In  the  Palace  del  Capitanio  is  the  tomb  of  Livy ;  and 
the  Paduans  claim  that  his  veritable  bones  are  here. 
But  if  this  is  not  credible,  there  is  no  disputing  the 
fact  that  in  this  building  and  in  the  same  saloon 
wherein  Livy's  monument  stands,  we  are  shown  the 


66  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Trojan  horse.  Petrarch's  Lamm. 

Debtor's  bench,  a  stool  of  "black  granite,  on  which  the 
debtor  was  permitted  to  sit,  and  then  to  go  free  if  he 
could  swear  three  times  that  he  was  not  worth  a  dol- 
lar. Similar  operations  in  bankruptcy  were  common 
in  many  cities  of  Italy,  and  were  much  better  than 
imprisonments,  for  such  a  sense  of  disgrace  attended 
their  use  that  they  would  not  be  resorted  to  unless 
under  the  most  pressing  circumstances. 

We  had  not  expected  to  see  the  Trojan  horse  in 
Italy;  but  in  the  Ccqioclilista  house  is  a  wooden 
horse  of  such  immense  proportions,  that  it  might 
easily  be  taken  for  the  remains  of  that  celebrated  ani- 
mal, and  one  writer  has  rather  favored  the  idea  by 
intimating,  that  as  the  Trojan  Antenor  was  the  found- 
er of  the  city  of  Padua,  he  may  have  brought  it 
here. 

Near  to  Padua,  in  the  village  of  Arqua,  is  the  grave 
and  the  home  of  Petrarch  the  poet  and  divine.  Here 
the  learned  and  sentimental  have  made  pilgrimages, 
and  inscribed  their  names.  The  walls  of  his  house 
are  covered  with  paintings,  the  scenes  of  which  arc 
taken  from  the  story  of  his  love,  and  one  of  them 
represents  his  coming  in  sight  of  Laura  while  she  is 
bat! ling.  She  is  splashing  the  water  about  to  cover 
herself;  but  Petrarch,  undaunted,  approaches  in  his 
clerical  robes.  Under  a  tomb  of  red  marble  lie  the 
ashes  of  this  great  but  eccentric  man :  the  friend  and 
companion  of  kings,  and  the  "real  creator  of  letters 
in  Europe." 

We  posted  from  Padua  to  Florence  by  the  way  of 
Ferrara  and  Bologna.     Our  ride  the   first   day  was 


FROM     VENICE     TO     FLORENCE.  67 

Papal  States.  Arrest  on  the  frontiers. 

much  of  it  along  the  banks  of  the  Po,  sometimes  a 
rapid  stream,  and  kept  within  its  bounds  by  artificial 
banks.  At  Vallice  we  came  to  the  frontiers  of  the 
Austrian  dominions  ;  and  having  submitted  to  a  final 
examination  of  our  luggage,  we  were  dismissed  to  the 
Papal  States,  which  we  were  to  reach  by  crossing  the 
river.  Our  carriage  was  taken  upon  a  broad  flat-boat, 
curiously  urged  across  by  the  current.  On  the  way 
over  we  studied  a  wretched  daub  of  a  picture  on  a  char- 
ity box,  placed  on  the  boat  for  the  contributions  of 
kindly-disposed  travellers.  The  rude  painting  repre- 
sented the  souls  of  the  wicked  in  flames,  writhing  and 
tossing,  and  the  hint  was  thus  delicately  given  that  a 
donation  would  save  the  giver  from  such  a  fix  as  that. 
I  saw  no  one  contributing.  We  were  no  sooner  across 
than  we  were  stopped  at  another  custom-house,  and 
were  given  to  understand  that  the  payment  of  a  dol- 
lar would  pass  us  through  without  the  trouble  of  a 
search.  And  it  did.  Out  of  this,  and  in  a  miserable 
village,  we  were  "brought  up  at  the  door  of  a  little 
shop  that  proved  to  be  a  police-office,  and  our  pass- 
ports were  demanded.  Fortunately  mine  was  all 
right ;  but  not  so  with  two  of  the  party.  They  had 
been  assured  again  and  again  that  they  had  every 
vise  they  needed ;  now,  to  their  mortification  and 
chagrin,  they  were  arrested  on  the  borders  of  the  Pa- 
pal States  for  attempting  to  enter  without  a  passport. 
In  vain  they  urged  their  belief  that  it  was  all  right. 
In  vain  they  urged  that  they  were  in  good  company. 
It  was  of  no  avail.  Ferrara  was  ten  miles  off,  and 
without  a  permit  from  the  police  they  could  not  pro- 


68  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Permit  to  proceed. 


Bologna. 


ceed.  It  was  now  dark.  Antonio  the  courier  must 
be  sent  forward  to  get  this  permission,  and  we  must 
remain  to  await  his  return.  No  supper  was  to  be  had 
in  such  a  place ;  but  over  a  wretched  drinking-shop 
Ave  found  two  beds  in  a  damp,  dismal  apartment, 
which  seemed  not  to  have  been  opened  in  a  month, 
and  here  we  passed  the  night.  In  the  morning,  An- 
tonio returned  with  the  necessary  document,  and  we 
pushed  on  to  Ferrara,  once  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
for  letters  of  the  ancient  towns  of  Italy,  and  now  re- 
nowned for  having  been  the  residence  of  Ariosto,  and 
still  containing  the  prison  of  Tasso.  Besides  these, 
there  is  little  to  interest  fhe  traveller,  and  we  gave  it 
but  a  day,  and  hastened  on  to  Bologna.  At  the  Pen- 
sion Suisse  we  were  handsomely  entertained — I  speak 
of  these  hotels  occasionally,  as  a  first-rate  hotel  is  not 
to  be  had  every  day  in  Italy — and  looked  through  the 
gallery,  and  into  the  library,  and  a  few  of  the  churches 
of  this  interesting  city.  The  morning  that  we  left 
two  men  were  to  be  shot,  and  two  to  be  beheaded, 
under  a  sentence  recently  passed  on  them  for  their 
participation  in  the  outbreaks  of  1848.  M.  Bedini  is 
not  here  now.  Austrian  soldiers,  however,  were  pa- 
trolling the  streets,  and  so  fearful  is  the  government 
of  an  insurrection  that  the  English  newspapers  which 
came  to  the  post-office  to-day  were  not  allowed  to  be 
distributed,  as  it  was  reported  that  they  contained  in- 
telligence of  a  declaration  of  war  against  Russia,  and 
the  authorities  feared  the  people  would  be  excited  by 
reading  it. 

We  were  to  leave  in  the  morning  before  daylight 


FROM    VENICE     TO     FLORENCE.  (59 

Robberies.  Sight  of  Tuscany. 

by  the  diligence,  and  were  not  a  little  surprised  when 
we  set  off  to  find  ourselves  followed  by  a  carriage  with 
four  armed  men  in  it  as  a  guard.  They  kept  near 
us  for  three  or  four  hours,  and  then  returned  to  Bo- 
logne.  This  was  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the  lives 
and  property  of  passengers.  The  diligence  had  been 
robbed  but  a  few  days  previously,  and  these  precau- 
tions after  a  few  weeks  will  be  given  up,  when  the 
robberies  will  be  resumed.  During  the  whole  of  this 
day's  ride,  the  rude  agriculture  that  still  prevails  in 
Italy  appeared.  The  wooden  plows  were  of  a  primi- 
tive pattern,  and  drawn  by  cows,  with  a  woman  to 
lead  them.  What  a  picture  for  an  American  farmer 
to  look  at !  We  crossed  a  spur  of  the  Appenines  at 
noon,  and  came  into  Tuscany.  The  view  of  the  plains 
as  we  were  descending  by  a  winding  and  beautiful 
road,  was  that  of  a  garden  without  bounds.  Away  in 
the  distance  was  the  river  Arno,  meanderino-  among; 
groves  and  through  meadows,  with  cities  on  its  shores. 
The  hills  are  clothed  with  chestnut  trees,  the  fruit  of 
which  is  ground  into  flour,  and  makes  a  common  but 
unwholesome  article  of  food,  greatly  in  use  among  the 
peasantry.  But  even  some  of  the  chestnuts  would 
have  been  acceptable  to  us,  for  we  had  not  been 
allowed  to  stop  for  any  thing  to  eat,  and  had  been 
riding  from  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  it  was 
now  four  in  the  afternoon.  We  had  reached  Pistoia 
to  dine.  While  dinner  was  preparing,  I  ran  out  to 
see  the  town.  A  crowd  were  gathered  about  a  small 
building  like  a  carriage-house.  I  wedged  in  among 
them  to  learn  what  was  going  on.     They  were  press- 


70  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Corpse  exposed.  Florence. 

ing  in  to  see  the  corpse  of  a  woman  who  was  laid  out 
on  a  table,  with  her  head  raised  so  as  to  be  seen  by 
all.  Her  face  was  painted  more  rosy  than  life. 
Heaps  of  flowers  were  put  around  her,  and  a  display 
of  finery  made,  as  if  it  was  a  bride  adorned  for  her 
husband,  and  not  a  body  mouldering  into  dust.  I 
turned  away  in  disgust,  but  the  people  were  still 
struggling  to  get  in,  and  were  climbing  up  on  every 
thing  they  could  mount,  to  get  a  sight. 

After  dinner,  our  diligence  was  placed  on  the  plat- 
form of  a  rail-car,  and  we  were  transported  to  Flor- 
ence, through  the  rich  meadow  lands  we  had  been 
looking  down  upon  from  the  Appenines  as  we  cross- 
ed. Tuscany  has  long  been  the  granary  of  Italy. 
By  the  most  complete  system  of  irrigation,  its  plains 
are  made  abundantly  fruitful.  Its  hills  are  crowned 
with  the  residences  of  men  of  wealth  or  taste  and 
letters,  and  surrounded  with  groves  of  olives  and  figs. 
The  vine  encircles  Italy  as  with  a  cincture  of  beauty. 
Such  it  seemed  to  me  at  the  close  of  a  long  and  tire- 
some day,  when  the  dome  of  the  cathedral,  the  admi- 
ration of  the  greatest  of  architects,  appeared  in  sight, 
and  we  approached  the  city  of  Florence. 

Not  yet  had  I  seen  the  city ;  I  had  read  of  it — 
dreamed  of  it — heard  the  poet  sing  of  it — 

"  Of  all  the  fairest  cities  of  the  earth 
None  is  so  fair  as  Florence.     Tis  a  gem 
Of  purest  ray ;  and  what  a  light  broke  forth 
When  it  emerged  from  darkness!     Search  within, 
Without,  all  is  enchantment !     Tis  the  past 
Contending  with  the  present;  and  in  turn 
Each  has  the  mastery." 


FKOM     VENICE     TO     FLORENCE.  71 

Brothers  of  Mercy.  Intolerance. 

The  darkness  of  a  rainy  night  had  set  in  before  we 
got  through  the  custom-house  and  police  and  gained 
our  lodgings.  But  even  now  we  encountered  a  pro- 
cession of  a  very  singular  character.  A  number  of 
men,  in  black  gowns  covering  their  heads,  faces,  and 
entire  figure,  so  that  no  one  could  possibly  distinguish 
a  friend  or  an  enemy,  were  bearing  a  wounded  man 
on  a  shutter.  I  found  they  were  a  society  called  the 
"Brothers  of  Mercy,"  who  make  it  their  duty,  with 
the  alacrity  of  firemen,  the  instant  they  hear  of  an 
accident,  to  throw  over  them  this  disguise,  and  to  rush 
to  the  relief  of  the  sufferers.  If  they  find  that  a  labor- 
ing man  has  fallen  from  a  building,  or  been  injured  in 
any  way  so  as  to  require  surgical  aid,  they  take  him 
up  and  convey  him  to  the  hospital,  or  to  his  own 
house,  and  see  that  all  needful  assistance  is  promptly 
rendered  him.  I  was  told  that  many  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished citizens,  and  even  the  Grand  Duke  him- 
self, are  members  of  the  order;  but  their  disguise  is 
so  perfect  that  you  can  not  tell  to  whom  the  merit  of 
any  particular  act  of  charity  belongs.  Something 
very  beautiful  is  in  this  idea.  Surely  this  is  not  do- 
ing good  to  be  seen  of  men  ;  and  if  the  left  hand  does 
know  what  the  right  hand  is  doing,  one's  neighbors 
know  nothing  of  it.  And  what  a  strange  contrast  is 
this  society  of  mercy  with  the  intolerance  of  this  same 
Tuscany  and  its  Grand  Duke,  whose  laws,  even  at 
this  day,  are  rigorously  put  in  force  to  repress  the  cir- 
culation of  the  Scriptures !  But  it  was  a  blessed  sight 
to  see  those  men,  in  a  pouring  rain,  bearing  on  their 
shoulders  a  suffering  fellow-man — a  stranger,  doubt- 


72  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


less,  and  poor — but  now  their  "brother,   whom  they 
were  "bound  to  relieve. 

What  a  welcome  I  had  at  Florence !  I  thought  to 
find  palaces  and  pictures  and  art  and  artists,  the  grand 
creations  of  the  old  masters  of  painting  and  sculpture, 
hut  I  did  not  think  to  find  a  home.  For  six  weary 
months  I  had  "been  wandering  away  from  those  I 
loved — often  "sick  at  heart  and  sore  disquieted" — 
longing  for  a  resting-place  of  body  and  spirit,  where  I 
might  sit  down  and  be  refreshed  by  the  ministries  and 
sympathies  of  those  who  would  call  me  friend.  I 
found  them  here !  It  was  a  strange,  a  wondrous  order- 
ing of  the  kind  Father  who  guides  our  steps  in  far 
lands  as  well  as  at  home,  that  here  I  should  come 
with  my  travelling  companions,  one  of  whom  was  to 
lie  down  in  Florence,  and  linger,  and  die,  and  be  bur- 
ied ;  and  here  I  should  find  friends  who  would  receive 
me  as  a  brother  in  a  strange  land,  and  take  me  to 
then*  home  and  their  hearts.  Mr.  Kinney,  of  whom 
I  have  spoken  as  our  Charge"  d'Affaires  at  Turin, 
was  now  residing  in  Florence  with  his  family,  the  cen- 
tre of  a  gifted  and  accomplished  circle,  into  which  I 
was  welcomed  with  a  cordiality  that  made  it  good  for 
me  to  be  here. 


CHAPTER   VII 

FLORENCE. 

Tower  of  Michael  Angelo — Fiesole — An  Etruscan  City — Haunts  of 
great  Poets — Monks  and  Beggars — Amphitheatre — Galileo  and 
Milton — Hailam's  Description — The  Duomo — Dante's  Seat — Bra- ' 
nelleschi's  Genius — Santa  Croce,  the  "Westminster  Abbey  of  Italy 
— M.  Angelo's  Spouse — Angel-painting — "Xight  and  Day" — 
Frescoes — Street  of  Statues — Uffizii  Palace — Pitti  Palace — Society 
in  Florence — The  Brownings  and  others — Mrs.  Somerville — Mrs. 
Troiloppe — Morals  of  Italy — Manners. 

"Florence  the  beautiful,  the  Athens  of  modern 
Italy,  the  mother  of  genius,  who  has  given  birth  to  a 
sweater  number  of  eminent  men  than  ail  the  rest  of 

o 

Italy  put  together,  was  idly  and  voluptuously  lying 
in  the  lap  of  her  green  vale  of  Arno,  like  a  beautiful 
pearl  set  in  emerald,  as  if  lulled  by  the  murmur  of 
her  river,  and  by  the  fascination  of  the  smiles  of  her 
climate."  To  these  words  of  Mariotti  I  could  respond 
with  a  full  heart,  when  with  my  friends,  who  had  be- 
come familiar  with  every  sj^ot  of  interest,  and  even- 
point  of  peculiar  beauty  in  the  city  and  the  vale,  I 
ascended  one  of  the  many  heights  that  surround  the 
town,  and  looked  down  upon  the  valley,  the  river,  the 
city,  and  the  villas,  scattered  so  thickly  over  the  hill- 
sides that  the  whole  landscape  is  instinct  with  life. 
The  Via  Cruets  led  us  to  the  hill  on  which  the  Tower 
of  Michael  Angelo  stands,  from  which  he  defended  the 


76 


EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


city  when  the  hired  soldiers  of  the  Pope  of  Rome  were 
chastising  the  Florentines  into  submission.  A  sud- 
den shower  came  up  while  we  were  in  the  midst  of 
the  dilapidated  walls ;  but  when  in  a  few  moments  it 


llli 


Tin-:    CAMPANILE 


FLOBENCE*  77 

Glorious  \iew.  The  finest  picture. 

cleared  away  and  the  sun  burst  out  again,  a  rainbow 
stood  over  the  city — a  mighty  arch  of  beauty — and 
underneath  it  shone  the  dome  of  the  Duomo,  the 
largest  in  the  world,  the  admiration  of  Michael  Angelo 
and  of  Dante,  both  of  whom  were  wont  to  gaze  upon 
it  with  rapture.  There  by  its  side  rises,  serene  and 
majestic,  the  Campanile,  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  feet  high.  Giotto  was  directed  by  the  government 
to  rear  a  tower  to  surpass  in  beauty  any  thing  that 
Greeks  or  Romans  ever  made,  and  he  caused  this 
splendid  tower  to  rise,  square  at  the  base,  and  of  the 
same  size  all  the  way  to  the  summit.  Near  to  it  we 
see  a  lower  dome.  It  covers  the  Baptistery  of  San 
Giovanni,  whose  famous  bronze  doors  Michael  Angelo 
declared  were  "  worthy  of  being  the  gates  of  Para- 
dise." Other  domes  and  turrets  are  gleaming  now  in 
the  sunlight,  and  the  more  brilliant  from  the  recent 
shower  that  has  fallen  on  them. 

We  are  loath  to  turn  away  ;  but  we  shall  frequently 
come  here,  or  look  down  upon  the  same  magnificent 
picture  from  these  other  heights.  Surely  Florence, 
which  has  the  finest  pictures  in  the  world,  has  none 
to  compare  with  herself,  as  seen  from  the  height  on 
which  we  now  stand. 

A  few  days  afterward  we  rode  out  of  the  city,  and 
by  a  winding  carriage-way  from  Porta  San  Gallo 
ascended  another  of  these  hills  to  the  old  Etruscan 
city  of  Fiesole.  Charming  villas,  in  the  midst  of 
handsome  grounds  and  gardens,  were  on  each  side  of 
us,  as  we  slowly  climbed  to  the  old  Dominican  con- 
vent.    In  one  of  these  villas  Boccaccio  resided :  an- 


EUKOPE    AND     THE     EAST. 


Pagan  templo. 


other  is  famous  as  the  rendezvous  of  the  poets  of 
whom  Florence  has  been  the  prolific  mother  and 
friend.  Under  these  olive-trees  and  cypresses  they 
have  walked  and  meditated,  inspired  by  the  scene 
and  the  associations.  Here  is  the  villa  which  was 
long  in  the  possession  of  the  M edici  family,  and  made 
famous  as  the  seat  of  their  conspiracies  and  the  ear- 
lier refuge  of  Catiline,  who  fled  hither  from  Rome, 
and  buried  his  treasures.  At  Pistoia  he  was  slain. 
Long  before  Rome  was  built,  this  spot  was  chosen  as 
the  seat  of  power,  as  it  always  was  of  beauty.  A 
crowd  of  women  and  children  infested  us  to  buy  their 
straw  braids,  and  it  was  hard  to  keep  them  off,  as  we 
wished  to  on  account  of  the  dangers  of  coming  in 
contact  with  them.  A  Franciscan  monastery  and 
church  crown  the  summit  of  the  hill,  once  the  Acrop- 
olis, and  we  were  kindly  admitted.  The  monks  were 
engaged  in  their  devotions ;  a  degenerate-looking  set 
of  men  they  were.  If  they  were  painted  on  canvas, 
the  picture  would  be  regarded  as  a  libel  on  the  order, 
if  not  on  the  human  race.  The  church  is  perhaps  the 
remains  of  a  Pagan  temple ;  and  an  altar  said  to  be 
of  Bacchus,  is  still  shown.  In  a  field  on  the  back  of 
the  hill  we  found  the  evident  ruins  of  an  amphitheatre, 
the  seats  and  stairs  of  which  have  been  uncovered, 
showing  plainly  where  the  thousands  of  men,  dead 
thousands  of  years  ago,  have  sat  to  gaze  upon  the 
bloody  battles  of  men  with  wild  beasts  let  loose  from 
the  dens  which  are  now  revealed,  and  into  which  we 
entered  with  a  light.  The  plan  of  the  city  is  easily 
traced  by  the  Cyclopean  walls  which  still  remain,  and 


FLORENCE.  79 


Milton.  Galileo.  Hallam. 

will  to  the  end  of  time.  But  apart  from  the  feeling 
of  awe  which  takes  possession  of  the  soul  in  the  midst 
of  these  ruins,  the  great  charm  of  the  spot  is  in  the 
prospect  it  commands,  and  which  has  made  it  the 
chosen  residence  of  genius  and  taste.  We  see  the 
spot  where  Galileo  lived,  and  where  Milton  came  to 
hold  communion  with  him,  while  both  held  converse 
with  the  stars.  From  these  heights  the  great  astron- 
omer discovered  the  rings  of  Saturn,  the  satellites  of 
Jupiter,  and  began  to  count  the  stars  in  the  Milky 
Way.  Milton  has  embalmed  the  spot  and  the  phi- 
losopher and  the  scene  together,  when  he  says  of 
Satan's  shield, 

"  Like  the  moon,  Avhose  orb, 
Through  optic-glass,  the  Tuscan  artist  views, 
At  evening  from  the  top  of  Eiesole, 
Or  in  Val  d'Arno,  to  descry  new  lands, 
Rivers  or  mountains  in  her  spotty  globe." 

I  can  not  leave  Fiesole  without  citing  the  words  of 
Hallam  in  his  "English  Literature,"  the  truthfulness 
of  which  we  verified  by  reading  it,  and  selecting  the 
objects  which,  with  equal  fidelity  and  beauty,  that 
elegant  writer  describes : 

"In  a  villa  overhanging  the  towers  of  Florence,  on 
the  steep  slope  of  that  lofty  hill  crowned  by  the  moth- 
er city,  the  ancient  Fiesole,  in  gardens  which  Tully 
might  have  envied,  with  Ficino,  Laudino,  and  Poli- 
tian  at  his  side,  Lorenzo  delighted  his  hours  of  leisure 
with  the  beautiful  visions  of  Platonic  philosophy,  for 
which  the  summer  stillness  of  an  Italian  sky  appears 
the  most  congenial  accompaniment.     Never  could  the 


80  EUKOPE     AND     THE      EAST. 

The  dome.  Churches. 

sympathies  of  the  soul  with  outward  nature  be  more 
finely  touched ;  never  could  more  striking  suggestions 
he  presented  to  the  philosopher  and  the  statesman. 
Florence  lay  beneath  them,  not  with  all  the  magnifi- 
cence that  the  later  Medici  have  given  her,  but, 
thanks  to  the  piety  of  former  times,  presenting  almost 
as  varied  an  outline  to  the  sky.  One  man,  the  won- 
der of  Cosmo's  age,  Brunelleschi,  had  crowned  the 
beautiful  city  with  the  vast  dome  of  its  cathedral,  a 
structure  unthought  of  in  Italy  before,  and  rarely 
since  surpassed.  It  seemed,  amidst  clustering  tow- 
ers of  inferior  churches,  an  emblem  of  the  Catholic 
hierarchy  under  its  supreme  head;  like  Rome  itself, 
imposing,  unchangeable,  radiating  in  equal  expansion 
to  every  part  of  the  earth,  and  directing  its  convergent 
curves  to  heaven.  Round  this  were  numbered,  at 
unequal  heights,  the  Baptistery,  with  its  '  gates  wor- 
thy of  paradise ;'  the  tall  and  richly  decorated  belfry 
of  Giotto ;  the  church  of  the  Carmine,  with  the  fres- 
cos of  Masaccio  ;  those  of  Santa  Maria  Kovella,  beau- 
tiful as  a  bride ;  of  Santa  Croce,  second  only  in  mag- 
nificence to  the  cathedral,  and  of  St.  Mark ;  the  San 
Spirito,  another  great  monument  of  the  genius  of 
Brunelleschi ;  the  numerous  convents  that  rose  with- 
in  the  Avails  of  Florence,  or  were  scattered  immediate- 
ly about  them.  From  these  the  eye  might  turn  to 
the  trophies  of  a  republican  government  that  was  rap- 
idly giving  way  before  the  citizen  prince  who  now 
surveyed  them;  the  Palazzo  Yecchio,  in  which  the 
signiory  of  Florence  held  their  councils,  raised  by  the 
Guelph  aristocracy,  the  exclusive  but  not  tyrannous 


FLOKENCE.  83 


Seat  of  Dante.  ^  The  artist's  art. 

faction  that  long  swayed  the  city;  or  the  new  and 
unfinished  palace  which  Brunelleschi  had  designed 
for  one  of  the  Pitti  family,  before  they  fell,  as  others 
had  already  done,  in  the  fruitless  struggle  against  the 
house  of  Medici,  itself  destined  to  become  the  abode 
of  the  victorious  race,  and  to  perpetuate,  by  retaining 
its  name,  the  revolutions  that  had  raised  them  to 
power.  *' 

My  friend,  Mr.  Kinney,  was  leading  me  to  the 
Duomo.  He  suddenly  paused,  and  called  my  atten- 
tion to  a  stone  in  the  flagging,  on  which  was  en- 
graved, that  this  was  the  Seat  of  Dante.  Here  that 
poet  was  wont  to  come  and  meditate  the  solemn  walls 
of  the  cathedral,  and  all  the  religious  associations  it 
awakened  in  his  deep  soul.  The  two  architects  of 
the  building  stand  here  in  marble ;  the  one  who  laid 
its  foundations  is  now  studying  them,  and  the  other, 
whose  genius  achieved  the  dome,  is  beholding  the  re- 
sult of  his  boldness  and  skill.  Brunelleschi  had  for 
many  years  been  studying  in  vain  to  find  a  plan  for 
the  support  of  a  dome  so  vast  as  this  over  the  four 
naves  of  the  cathedral ;  and  when  at  last  the  way 
was  revealed  to  his  inventive  mind,  lest  his  rivals 
should  say  that  any  body  could  do  it,  he  advertised 
for  plans,  and  when  all  the  artists  of  the  day  had 
given  it  up  as  impracticable,  he  undertook  the  task. 
Jealousy  of  him  then  procured  the  appointment  of  an 
assistant ;  and  lest  he  should  share  the  glory  about 
to  be  achieved,  Brunelleschi  quit  the  work,  pretend- 
ing to  be  sick,  till  his  rival  was  compelled  to  admit 
he  could  not  carry  it  on.      Then  the  great  artist  re- 


84  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Michael  Angelo's  tomb. 


sumed  his  labors,  and  the  glorious  dome  rose,  in  its 
beautiful  proportions,  the  crown  of  the  fairest  city  in 
Italy. 

We  entered  it  and  admired  the  many-colored  mar- 
bles of  its  pavement  and  walls,  the  monuments  that 
make  the  temple  and  the  dead  illustrious ;  and  find- 
ing a  convenient  place,  we  sat  down  and  received  the 
solemn  and  sublime  impressions  which  this  magnifi- 
cent creation  must  make  on  every  sensitive  mind. 
One  of  the  greatest  of  Michael  Angelo's  sculptures, 
the  Entombment  of  Christ,  one  that  he  never  finished, 
is  here  behind  the  altar.  Such  was  his  half-developed 
power,  that  the  hand  of  the  master  is  visible  in  every 
muscle  and  limb.  He  did  not  live  to  complete  it,  de- 
signed as  it  was  for  his  own  tomb. 

But  we  must  go  over  to  the  Santa  Croce.  The 
front  of  it  is  yet  to  be  finished.  It  is  now  the  West- 
minster Abbey  of  Italy,  for  here  are  the  monuments 
of  the  greatest  men  which  this  country  has  produced. 
Some  of  them  are  commemorated  by  tombs  worthy 
of  their  own  genius  and  fame.  Michael  Angelo  is 
mourned  by  a  melancholy  group  of  sisters — painting, 
sculpture,  and  architecture — and  Dante  is  celebrated 
by  a  statue  of  his  country  pointing  to  his  image.  Here 
are  the  tombs  of  Galileo  and  Alfieri,  and  others,  the 
names  of  whom  are  suggestive  of  genius  and  glory.  I 
stood  in  silent  admiration,  in  the  north  transept,  over 
a  newly-made  tomb  of  a  Polish  lady — her  efiigy  in 
marble,  lying  in  the  loveliness  of  a  sweet  sleep, 

"The  spouse  of  Michael  Angelo,"  as  he  himself 
called  the  beautiful  Santa  Maria  Novella,  is  one  of 


FLORENCE.  S7 

Picture  of  the  Virgin.  Day  and  .Night. 

the  jewels  of  Florence.  Its  sculptures  and  paintings, 
and  the  costliness  of  its  ornaments,  make  it  worthy  of 
the  distinction.  The  celebrated  picture  of  the  Virgin, 
which  was  carried  in  state  by  a  great  procession  of 
citizens  from  the  studio  of  the  artist  to  the  church,  is 
the  most  admired  of  the  paintings.  But  it  is  not 
likely  that  my  readers  will  follow  me  with  any  inter- 
est from  church  to  church,4  to  study  these  works  of 
art,  to  admire  the  altars  adorned  with  gold  and  pre- 
cious stones,  the  value  of  which  would  seem  incredi- 
ble if  reduced  to  pounds  and  shillings. 

In  one  of  them  was  a  little  chapel,  the  ceiling  and 
lamps  of  which  were  of  gold,  the  beautiful  pillars  of 
variegated  marble,  and  the  floor  of  mosaic  work,  most 
costly.  The  head  of  the  Virgin,  which  is  adored 
within  it,  is  said  to  have  been  painted  by  angel  hands 
while  the  artist  was  asleep!  The  walls  of  Sa?i  Lo- 
renzo are  of  marble,  most  curiously  and  beautifully 
inlaid  with  all  manner  of  precious  stones  and  mother- 
of-pearl;  and  the  temple  itself  is  now  the  mausoleum 
of  the  Grand  Dukes  of  Tuscany.  Near  it  is  the 
chapel  in  which  the  statue  of  Lorenzo  sits,  one  of  the 
most  impressive  works  of  art  ever  produced  by  the 
hand  of  man.     We  are  now  in 

" that  chamber  of  the  dead, 

Where  the  gigantic  shapes  of  Night  and  Day, 
Turned  into  stone,  rest  everlastingly/' 

the  great  allegorical  pieces  of  Michael  Angelo,  which 
have  been  repeated  in  ^marble  and  on  the  canvas,  but 
these  are  the  breathing  marbles  as  they  came  from 
their  author's  hand.     I  sat  down  in  the  midst  of  these 


88  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  cloisters.  Street  of  statues. 

creations,  and  felt  that  here  is  the  monument  to  Michael 
Angelo ;  and  the  splendid  tomb  in  Santa  Croce  may 
he  forgotten  when  these  will  live.  Day  after  day,  with 
my  friends  or  alone,  I  wandered  through  the  cloisters 
of  these  churches,  to  see  the  expiring  frescoes  and  the 
numerous  tombs  ;  to  read  strange  and  yet  touching 
records  of  grief,  written  hundreds  of  years  ago,  telling 
me  how  in  all  time  the  heart  when  it  speaks  of  the 
departed  is  true  to  itself,  and  loves  to  imprint  its  sor- 
rows in  marble.  Some  of  these  frescoes  are  among  the 
most  interesting  remains  of  the  old  masters,  and  art- 
ists were  sitting  before  them  and  catching  their  de- 
parting colors,  with  some  faint  hope  of  transmitting 
them  to  posterity.  Where  are  the  successors  of 
Giotto  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci?  Well,  the  fathers 
are  not  forgotten  if  they  left  no  descendants  to  wear 
their  names.  Here  in  Florence  are  streets  of  statues  ; 
great  men  in  marble,  and  the  tombs  of  great  men, 
standing  out  in  the  broad  eye  of  heaven,  as  if  no  other 
temple  was  fit  to  hold  them,  and  no  dome  but  the  blue 
vault  should  cover  them. 

I  was  startled  when  I  came  in  siffht  of  the  long  row 
in  front  of  the  Palazzo  Vecchio,  where  the  ancient 
government  held  its  seat  of  power.  There  stands  the 
David  ot  Michael  Angelo,  a  gigantic  youth,  but  so 
lithe  and  graceful,  his  limbs  so  wondrously  formed  as 
to  make  you  feel  that  they  are  about  to  move.  Even 
more  exciting,  because  of  the  energy  of  action  revealed, 
is  the  "Rape  of  the  Sabines,"  by  John  of  Bologna. 
There  also  is  the  "  Perseus,"  by  Benvenuto  Cellini, 
in  bronze,  and  executed  by  the  artist  in  the  frenzy  of 


FLORENCE.  89 


Palace  of  art.  Portraits  of  paiutcrs. 

genius,  at  the  hazard  of  his  life.  Enter  the  Ufnzii 
Palace  through  the  lines  of  statues,  that  leads  one  to 
ask  if  all  these  were  men  of  Florence.  Even  so,  and 
yet  they  are  not  all  here ;  one  street  is  famous  as  the 
birth-place  of  fifty  great  men !  But  let  us  leave  them 
and  go  in.  Here  you  walk  for  hours  through  success- 
ive chambers  of  statuary  and  painting ;  the  wild  boar, 
an  antique,  stands  in  the  entrance,  a  prodigious  exhibi- 
tion of  artistic  power ;  within,  we  see  the  busts  of  the 
old  emperors,  Cupid  and  Psyche,  the  celebrated  Bac- 
chus of  Michael  Angelo,  and  Bandinelli's  copy  of  the 
Laocoon  in  the  Vatican,  which  the  artist  boasted  was 
better  than  the  original,  when  Michael  Angelo  very 
shrewdly  and  truthfully  said,  that  "he  who  follows 
in  another's  steps  can  not  very  well  get  before  him." 
We  will  not  be  detained  by  the  curious  collection  of 
bronzes,  but  pass  into  the  hall  of  Niobe,  where  the 
stricken  mother  shields  her  daughter,  a  powerful  dis- 
play of  grief  and  love.  The  bust  of  Brutus,  unfinish- 
ed, is  greatly  admired.  I  lingered  longer  in  the  cham- 
ber where  the  portraits  of  all  the  great  painters  are 
suspended,  striving  to  detect  in  their  expression  what 
I  had  seen  in  their  several  works.  And  now  we  may 
study  the  history  of  the  art  of  painting,  by  slowly 
walking  through  these  halls  and  examining  the  suc- 
cessive progress  of  the  art,  as  seen  in  the  rude  at- 
tempts and  the  gradually  improving  style,  till  we 
reach  the  master-pieces  of  Titian  and  Raphael. 
"Pause  a  moment." 

"Certainly,  but  why  do  you  arrest  me  here?" 
"Do  you  know  that   you  are  about   to  enter  the 


90  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Venus  de  Medicis.  Titian. 

penetralia,  the  tribune,  where  the  Venus  de  Medicis 
stands  in  the  midst  of  it,  as  the  divinity  of  this  tem- 
ple?" 

A  chamber  of  small  dimensions,  dimly  lighted  by 
a  dome  most  beautifully  inwrought  with  pearl  and 
gold,  contains  the  great  models  of  the  beautiful  in 
painting  and  statuary.  There  are  many  spectators, 
but,  like  worshippers,  they  stand  gazing  upon  the 
objects  of  art  before  them,  paying  the  homage  of 
silent  admiration  which  genius  extorts.  What  are 
words  now  ?  The  Ve?ius,  on  a  pedestal  in  the  centre, 
is  the  attraction  of  all  eyes.  Instantly  you  see  that 
the  arms  are  modern  restorations,  but  the  form  is 
faultless  ;  and  the  longer  we  stand  near  it,  and  study 
the  poetry  and  beauty  of  the  figure,  the  more  we  feel 
that  one's  ideal  of  the  Venus  is  met  in  this  marble. 
It  has  exerted  more  influence  on  statuary  than  any 
other  single  work,  and  therefore  one  regrets  that  it 
is  the  model  of  woman  touched  with  a  sense  of  shame 
— that  it  is  not  the  model  of  purity  and  love,  uncon- 
scious of  evil,  but  rather  of  woman  striving  with 
meretricious  art  to  captivate  the  beholder.  Its  height, 
if  erect,  would  be  five  feet  and  two  inches. 

The  other  statues  in  this  chamber  are  only  less 
celebrated  than  the  Venus.  We  have  the  Dancing 
Faun  and  the  Wrestlers,  the  Whetter  and  the  Apol- 
lino — which  have  their  several  merits — all  antiques  ; 
and  among  the  most  valuable  that  remain  of  the 
paintings,  two  are  of  Venus,  by  Titian,  and  one  of 
them  claimed  by  some  artists  to  be  the  best  specimen 
of  mere  painting  in  the  world.      I  put  three  others  be- 


- 


FLORENCE.  93 


A  Carlo  Dolce. 


fore  it,  and  probably  many  would  put  a  dozen.  A 
Sibyl,  by  Guercino,  is  a  "thing  of  beauty."  Guido's 
Virgin  musing,  is  a  picture  to  fall  in  love  with.  Cor- 
reggio  and  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michael  Angelo  and 
Raphael,  are  all  here  in  their  works,  which  follow  and 
praise  them  as  men  "that  were  not  born  to  die." 

The  Pitti  Palace  was  built  by  a  man  of  that  name, 
who  was  the  great  rival  of  the  Medici  family.  He 
threatened  to  build  a  palace  in  the  court  of  which  the 
Grand  Duke's  could  stand.  He  completed  his  splendid 
structure,  but,  alas !  for  the  mutations  of  human  affairs, 
Pitti  went  down,  and  the  Grand  Duke  now  possesses 
the  palace  of  his  rival.  The  Boboli  Gardens,  in  the 
rear  of  it,  are  beautifully  embellished  with  statuary, 
fountains,  and  flowers,  while  the  walks  and  terraces 
and  charming  views  of  the  city  and  the  country, 
make  it  a  delightful  place  of  resort.  "With  a  friend  I 
walked  over  these  spacious  grounds,  and  then  through 
the  palace  itself,  which  is  furnished  with  a  degree  of 
splendor  rarely  seen  in  the  proudest  capitals  of  Eu- 
rope. The  mosaic  tables,  which,  like  the  Gobelin 
tapestry  of  Paris,  are  made  only  for  the  Sovereign, 
surpass  all  description.  One  of  superi  r  beauty  and 
value  was  made  for  exhibition  in  the  London  Crystal 
Palace,  but  the  Grand  Duke,  offended  for  some  rea- 
son, declined  sending  it,  or  any  thing  else  from  his 
dominions.  In  one  of  the  royal  bedchambers  we 
found  a  Madonna,  by  Carlo  Dolce.  Of  the  ten  thou- 
sand Madonnas  I  have  seen,  this  alone  answers  even 
to  my  imperfect  image  of  what  it  should  be.  In  this 
Mary,  was  the  mysterious  blending  of  foreknowledge 


94  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Raphael.  Restoring  pictures. 

with  affection — a  consciousness  of  the  great  secret 
that  the  child  was  to  be  the  Saviour — a  picture  that 
one  loves  to  have  near  him  ;  and  it  is  no  strange  thing 
that  the  Grand  Duke  takes  this  with  him  when  he 
travels,  just  as  I  should  love  to  do  when  I  travel 
homeward.  Day  after  day,  for  these  gates  are  always 
open,  I  came  to  study  the  vast  collections  of  paintings 
treasured  in  the  halls  of  this  palace ;  but  I  find  it  im- 
possible to  speak  of  them  in  detail,  I  have  already 
dwelt  so  long  on  others.  The  Madonna  della  Seggi- 
ola  of  Raphael,  and  his  Vision  of  Ezekiel,  are  among 
the  most  perfect  productions  of  art,  here  or  in  the 
world  of  art. 

It  is  sad  to  see  what  work  is  made  in  cleaning  and 
restoring  the  pictures  in  the  galleries  of  Florence,  and 
it  is  probably  quite  as  bad  in  others.  The  director 
gives  the  job  of  "  doing"  this  or  that  picture  to  some 
favorite  artist,  who  puts  his  hand  fearlessly  upon  the 
workmanship  of  Rubens  or  Titian,  scrapes  and  scrapes 
till  lie  is  tired,  and  then,  with  his  unhallowed  touch, 
attempts  to  restore  the  ruin  he  has  wrought.  It  is 
doubtful  if  one  of  these  pictures  has  escaped  this  bar- 
barous handling.  Some  of  them  bear  the  most  lam- 
entable evidence  of  having  been  thus  spoiled.  I 
was  glad  to  hear  it  made  a  matter  of  discussion  in 
art  circles,  and  it  was  proposed  that  a  voice  of  re- 
monstrance in  behalf  of  the  civilized  world  should  be 
raised  to  the  Grand  Duke,  imploring  him  to  arrest  the 
progress  of  ruin. 

Florence  is  the  favorite  resort  of  artists.  These 
galleries  are  far  richer  in  variety  and  value  than  any 


FLORENCE.  95 


Men  of  mark.  And  won  e:;. 

others  in  Europe.  Rome  has  comparatively  very  few 
paintings.  Here  the  young  artist  finds  living  cheap, 
and  instruction  cheaper,  for  he  has  free  access  to  these 
unrivalled  halls,  and  may  copy  the  glorious  old  masters 
till  his  soul  is  imbued  with  something  of  their  spirit, 
and  his  hand  acquires  somewhat  of  their  cunning. 

Nor  less  is  Florence  the  resort  of  men  of  letters  and 
of  leisure.  I  found  delightful  circles  here,  not  of 
travellers  only,  but  of  residents,  from  our  own  country, 
from  England,  and  other  lands,  enjoying  the  fine  cli- 
mate, the  beautiful  Val  d'Arno,  and  all  the  rich  as- 
sociation clustering  around  this  ancient  and  remark- 
able city.  Mr.  Browning  the  poet,  and  Mrs.  Brown- 
ing (Miss  Barrett  that  was)  reside  here,  both  of  them 
charming  persons — his  is  a  warm,  genial  spirit,  gush- 
ing over  in  his  free  and  familiar  conversation.  She 
is  intellectual,  spiritual,  one  whom  you  recognize  as 
holding  communion  with  the  unseen.  I  was  greatly 
pleased  with  both  of  them.  Count  and  Countess 
Cotrill  are  also  English,  and  persons  of  high  cultiva- 
tion and  great  accomplishments.  He  has  a  handsome 
collection  of  paintings,  and  is  himself  an  amateur  in 
the  art.  I  had  also  the  honor,  and  I  felt  it  to  be  no 
small  honor,  to  meet  several  times  in  society,  and  at 
her  own  house,  Mrs.  Someeville,  whose  scientific 
works  have  justly  made  her  the  most  distinguished 
woman  of  her  age.  Her  bust  is  placed  by  the  side 
of  that  of  Sir  Isaac  Newton  at  the  Royal  Academy  in 
London.  Now,  when  she  is  more  than  seventy  years 
of  age,  she  is  preparing  a  work  in  pure  mathematics. 
She  conversed  with  great  familiarity  on  the  progress 


^6  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

_* 

Mrs.  Somerville.  Mrs.  Trolloppe. 

of  science  and  literature  in  America,  and  the  inquiries 
she  made  respecting  our  government,  showed  me  that 
she  had  a  more  correct  understanding  of  the  genius 
of  our  institutions  than  many  statesmen  of  England 
have.  She  also  sought  information  of  Mormonism, 
of  internal  improvements  and  popular  elections,  and 
in  all  her  conversation  exhibited  the  highest  respect 
for  the  young  Republic.  I  felt  the  profoimdest  re- 
gard for  this  eminent  woman,  and  was  proud  to  have 
made  her  acquaintance.  I  can  not  say  this,  or  any 
thing  like  it,  of  Mrs.  Trolloppe — the  Mrs.  Trolloppe 
who  once  travelled  in  America,  and  now  resides  here 
in  easy  circumstances,  living  on  the  earnings  of  her 
miserable  pen.  She  has  published  a  hundred  novels, 
and  is  now  making  more ;  they  are  read  eagerly  in 
England,  and  bring  her  a  handsome  income. 

But  besides  the  literary  people  of  Florence  whom  I 
met  in  company  with  my  friends  the  Kinneys,  and  the 
artists,  of  whom  there  are  hundreds  from  many  lands. 
there  is  another  world  here — the  world  of  fashion. 
Florence  is  a  grand  resort  for  men  and  women  who 
would  be  free  from  the  restraints  of  society  at  home, 

and  live  as  they  please.     Madame  A ,  who  has 

left  her  husband  in  England,  sets  up  her  establish- 
ment, and  surrounded  by  gay  cavaliers,  flourishes  in 
the  style  of  a  princess.  Her  salon  is  thronged  by 
men  of  fashion,  with  whom  she  smokes  and  drinks, 
genteelly,  of  course,  but  in  a  way  to  horrify  our  notions 

of  genteel  society.     Lord  B has  left  his  family  in 

England,  and  is  cutting  a  great  dash  in  this  city,  with 
his  carriage  and  company,  quite  consoled  for  the  loss 


FLOKENCE.  97 


Italian  morals  and  manners. 


of  those  lie  has  left,  in  the  free-and-easy  life  he  is  lead- 
ing with  the  friends  he  has  found.  One  must  see. 
something  of  Italian  society  before  he  can  form  a  fair 
opinion  of  Italian  morals.  These  dissolute  foreigners 
are  but  an  exponent  of  the  country  they  have  sought. 
They  are  here  because  the  sentiment  of  this  country 
does  not  censure  them,  as  it  would  in  England  or  the 
United  States.  A  friend  of  mine  who  has  resided  in 
Italy  for  some  years,  and  is  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  highest  forms  of  its  society,  and  the  habits  of  its 
people,  repeatedly  assured  me  that  no  such  principle 
as  virtue  can  be  honestly  affirmed  of  either  sex  in 
Italy!  In  the  upper  circles,  every  lady  of  mark, 
though  provided  with  that  convenient  appendage  a 
husband,  has  also  her  cavalier  servante,  a  friend 
whose  attentions  she  receives  in  public  and  in  private, 
and  who  is  known  to  be  received  as  her  confidante 
and  lover.  At  the  door  of  the  assembly  room  he 
meets  her,  carries  her  from  her  carriage  to  the  ball, 
stands  by  her  to  comply  with  her  slightest  wish,  and 
to  display  his  tender  and  absorbing  passion.  Where 
is  the  husband  all  this  time  ?  He  is  doing  the  same 
good  turn  to  some  other  lady  in  the  same  room.  The 
game  is  one  that  two  can  play  at,  and  both  lose ! 

The  passions  have  Ml  play  in  this  Italian  clime. 
The  religion  of  the  people  is  no  restraint.  And  it 
may  be  truly  said  of  Italy,  "Like  people,  like  priest." 
I  have  no  resentments  to  gratify  in  this  remark.  It  is 
notorious  and  undeniable.  There  is  no  morale  as  the 
basis  of  society.  The  foundations  are  out  of  place. 
And  there  is  no  hope  for  the  future. 
Vol.  II.— E 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE     STUDIO     OF     POWERS. 

A  Day  with  Hiram  Powers — The  Story  of  the  Man — Thorwalsden 
calls — Powers'  Studio — Statue  of  America — Washington — Cali- 
fornia— La  Penserosa — Other  Artists. 

Among  the  pleasant  memories  of  a  month  in  Flor- 
ence, are  the  hours  I  spent  with  the  great  American 
artist,  whose  reputation  is  now  the  common  property 
of  the  world.  His  studio  is  in  Via  la  Fornace,  and 
just  over  the  way  from  Casa  del  Bello,  the  house  of 
Mr.  Kinney,  my  home  while  there.  His  history  is  to 
be  studied  by  every  young  American. 

The  most  remarkable  work  in  the  studio  is  the 
man  himself.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  was  an  emi- 
grant from  Vermont,  his  native  State,  to  Ohio,  and 
there,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  he  made  his  first 
bust,  a  head  in  wax.  It  gives  little  promise  of  what 
has  since  appeared.  Twenty  years  ago  Mr.  Powers 
went  to  Washington,  and  while  pursuing  his  labors 
as  a  sculptor  he  enjoyed  the  friendship  of  Mr.  Pres- 
ton, of  the  Senate,  whose  brother  sent  Mr.  Powers  to 
Italy.  Here  he  has  been  at  work  sixteen  years.  The 
first  few  years  were  lost  to  him,  in  consequence  of 
his  having  taken  orders  for  busts  of  his  countrymen, 
which  it  cost  him  more  to  execute  than  they  were  to 
bring  him,  and  he  was  for  a  long  time  compelled  to 


THE     STUDIO     OF     POWERS.  99 


Training  of  soul.  Z  ~, 

In  social  life. 


work   out   of  the   marble  with  his   Own  hands  that 
which  he  now  commits  to  artisans.    Thus,  in  addition 
to  the  loss  of  all  the  early  years  of  his  life,  which 
were   occupied  with  merely  mechanical  pursuits,  he 
sacrificed  three  more  to  engagements  he  had  made  in 
America.     Yet  in  all  these  years  of  bondage  his  soul 
was  at  work  upon  something  higher  and  better  than 
had  ever  come  from  his  hands,  and  perhaps,  like  the 
blindness  of  Milton  and  imprisonment  of  Bunyan,  it 
was  well  for  him  and  the  world  that  he  was  not  suf- 
fered to  put  forth  his  hand  until  his  soul  had  been 
refined  by  the  fires  of  long  years  of  trial,  such  as  con- 
sume those  who  are  not  made  of  gold.     Now  he  is 
less  than  fifty  years  of  age ;  and  when  he  was  many 
years  younger  than  he  is,   the  greatest  of  modern 
sculptors,   Thorwalsden,   paid  him  homage.     He  is 
destined  to  inaugurate  a  new  era  in  sculpture,  and 
leave  a  name  to  posterity  as  the  founder  of  a  school 
which  will  attract  the  admiration,  and  finally  secure 
the  approving  verdict  of  the  successive  ages  of  the 
Christian  world.     Yet  great  as  this  man  is,  his  great- 
est beauty  of  character  is  his  "meek  simplicity."     A 
model  for  a  king  in  form  and  height,  he  would  sit  for 
a  child,  if  his  spirit  found  expression  in  stone  or  on 
canvas.     I  met  him  first  in  social  life,  and  was  aU 
but  grieved.     The  majesty  of  a  man  who  conceives 
and  executes  works  that  hold  in  mute  wonder  and 
delight  the  most  cultivated  minds,  was  all  concealed 
in  the  gentleness  of  a  genial  friend;  but  I  fell  in  love 
with  the  man  before  I  sat  at  the  feet  of  the  master. 
And  he  was  just  the  same  when  I  stood  hy  him  study- 


100        EUEOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

His  studio.  America.  Y>'ashington. 

ing  the  glorious  creations  rising  into  beauty  and  life- 
like reality  under  his  plastic  hand.  His  studio  was 
a  gallery  of  glorious  statuary  when  I  entered  it. 
Among  the  greatest  of  his  works,  is  one  just  passing 
from  under  his  hand.  America  is  here  presented  in 
the  form  of  a  woman  of  youth,  vigor,  and  promise, 
confident  and  earnest,  with  a  face  radiant  with  hope, 
faith,  and  energy.  At  her  right,  and  supporting  the 
figure,  are  ike  fasces,  the  emblem  of  strength  derived 
from  union,  over  which  her  mantle  is  falling  gracefully. 
Her  head  is  crowned  with  laurels,  to  show  that  union 
is  victory  as  well  as  strength;  and  on  her  head  the 
thirteen  original  States  are  represented  by  as  many 
stars,  forming  a  tiara,  which  she  wears,  her  birth-right 
jewels.  Her  left  hand  points  to  heaven.  From  this 
shoulder  the  drapery  hangs  carelessly,  concealing 
much  of  the  form,  while  one  foot  advances  with  a 
firm  yet  elastic  tread,  which  speaks  of  the  progress 
and  stability  of  America  with  eloquence  that  can  not 
be  misread. 

The  State  of  Louisiana  has  ordered  a  statue  of 
Washington  by  Powers,  and  it  is  nearly  completed. 
The  head  of  Washington  is  after  the  Houdon  bust, 
which  Stuart  told  Isaac  P.  Davis  was  a  better  like- 
ness of  Washington  than  the  portrait  which  he  (Stu- 
art) painted,  and  wherein  his  portrait  varied  from 
Houdon's  bust,  the  bust  was  the  best.  In  this  great 
AS'ork  of  Powers,  Washington  is  presented  after  his 
retirement  from  public  service,  but  still  meditating 
the  welfare  of  his  country  ;  he  leans  on  the  fasces  as 
;ii  i  emblem  of  union,  and  his  farewell  address  in  his 


THE     STUDIO     OF     POWERS.  101 


Illustrious  men. 


California. 


hand.  The  posture  is  one  of  great  dignity,  and  the 
impression  made  upon  the  beholder  is  of  profound 
admiration  and  awe. 

Around  the  studio  are  the  heads  of  many  of  our 
illustrious  men— Jackson,  Adams,  Webster,  Calhoun, 
Clay ;  but  it  is  to  be  observed  that  whatever  is  admira- 
ble  in  each  one  of  them,  seems  to  have  been  given  to 
Washington  in  a  degree  sufficient  to  form  him  for  the 
work  for  which  he  was  raised. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  of  his  creations  is  now 
in  progress,  representing  California.     A  young  In- 
dian woman,  undraped,  resting  on  her  right  foot,  and 
slightly  bending  forward,  with  her  head  turned  to  the 
left,  and  her  face  inclined  downward,  with  a  sharp, 
watchful  expression.     Her  left  hand  holds  a  divining 
rod,  pointing  to  the  rock  at  her  feet,  and  which  con- 
tains the  gold.      The  Siren  face  and  attractive  form 
allures;  but  something  in  her  eye  compels  you   to 
pause  as  you  approach.     Concealed,  yet  revealed,  is  a 
scourge,  or  a  bundle  of  thorns,  which  she  holds  behind 
her  in  her  right  hand.     On  her  head  is  a  wreath  of 
shells  and  pearls,  ornaments  worn  by  the  native  wo- 
men, and  her  hah-  falls  in  small  braids  behind,  caught 
up  in  a  loop,  and  held  by  a  clasp  ornamented  with 
porcupine  quiUs.     As  a  work  of  art,  this  beautiful 
statue  is  worthy  of  the  man,  and  will  greatly  increase 
his  reputation.     It  has  not  so  much  poetry  in  it  as 
many  of  his  creations,  but  the  subject  perhaps  forbade 
it,  or  did  not  require  it.     It  was  a  happy  conception 
of  the  artist  to  embody  his  just  and  grand  idea  of 
the  youngest  sister  of  the  States  in  this  marble,  and 


102  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

La  Penserosa.  Milton's  lines. 

wherever  it  stands  it  will  speak  eloquently  and  in- 
structively to  coming  time. 

But  the  master-piece  of  Powers,  and  the  one  that  is 
to  inaugurate  a  new  dispensation  in  the  world  of  art, 
is  La  Penserosa,  a  female  figure  nearly  six  feet  high, 
of  full  proportions,  modestly  draped,  walking  out  at 
even-tide,  with  a  solemn,  meditative  air,  a  slow  and 
dignified  step,  her  head  turned  upward  as  she  gazes 
with  her  large,  thoughtful  eye  into  heaven.  One 
hand  with  her  forefinger  supports  the  chin,  and  in  the 
other  she  carries  the  richly-embroidered  train  of  robe 
hanging  from  the  right  hand  in  front,  and  as  it  falls 
gracefully  to  the  ground  it  supports  the  marble  with 
its  massive  folds.  The  drapery  is  a  beautiful  robe 
with  a  girdle  at  the  waist,  and  covering  the  figure  :  a 
portion  of  the  left  leg  and  foot  is  visible ;  the  arms 
are  nude ;  a  thin  vail  is  thrown  over  the  shoulders ; 
the  hair  is  simply  arranged,  and  drawn  back  so  as  to 
expose  the  temples,  and  give  the  finest  possible  ex- 
pression to  the  whole  head.  A  holy  beauty  shines  in 
every  limb,  and  sheds  a  halo  over  her  face:  she  is 
holding  "converse  with  the  skies,"  and  her  eye  and 
brow  betray  a  sanctified  intellect,  giving  the  highest 
lustre  to  those  personal  charms  which  are  wrought  up 
to  the  last  degree  of  loveliness  of  form  and  feature. 

Milton's  "II  Penseroso"  suggests  the  subject,  in 
the  following  lines : 

"  Come  pensive  nun,  devout  and  pure, 
Sober,  steadfast  and  demure, 
All  in  a  robe  of  darkest  grain, 
Flowing  with  majestic  train, 


THE 

STUDIO 

OF 

POWERS. 

103 

Marble.                                                                                                          Other  artists. 

And  sable  stole  of  Cyprus  lawn, 
Over  thy  decent  shoulders  drawn. 
Come,  but  keep  thy  wonted  state, 
With  even  step  and  musing  gait, 
And  looks  commercing  with  the  skies, 
Thy  rapt  soul  sitting  in  thine  eyes : 
There  held  in  holy  passion  still, 
Forget  thyself  to  marble." 

More  than  this  idea  has  been  marbleized  by  the 
artist.  He  has  made  a  poem  more  expressive  of  the 
poet's  thought  than  the  words  quoted,  and  one  is 
compelled  to  feel  that  the  statue,  as  it  stands,  is 
worthy  of  a  higher  destiny  than  to  illustrate  the 
words  of  Milton. 

Other  American  artists  are  in  Florence,  whose 
works  have  already  made  for  them  a  name,  or  will 
give  them  fame  one  day.  Mr.  Hart  takes  high  rank 
as  a  sculptor.  Mr.  Kellogg  has  a  reputation  in  Eu- 
rope as  well  as  in  his  own  country.  Mr.  Gould,  Mr. 
Read,  Mr.  Robinson,  and  others,  are  working  their 
way  nobly  onward  and  upward.  They  will  be  great 
men  one  day. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

DYING     AWAY    FROM     HOME. 

My  friend  Rankin  sickens — Fever  of  the  Country — Improves — Re- 
lapses—  Is  Delirious  —  Dies — Is  Buried — Coincidences — Flowers 
for  his  Tomb. 

Florence,  November  6. 

Faer  Florence !  beautiful  Florence !  When  first  I 
feaw  thee  on  the  "brightest  of  Sabbath  mornings,  four 
weeks  ago,  how  little  did  I  think  that  to-day  thy 
skies  would  all  be  overcast,  and  gloom  would  hang 
upon  thy  palaces  and  glorious  works  of  art ! 

When  I  left  the  shores  of  my  native  land  seven 
months  ago,  a  miserable  invalid,  with  a  friend  re- 
joicing in  the  vigor  of  fresh  manhood,  how  little  did 
I  think  that  to-day  I  should  follow  him  to  his  grave ! 

Wonderful  Providence !  If  one  were  to  be  taken, 
why  was  he  selected  for  the  sacrifice  ?  It  was  scarcely 
an  even  chance  for  me,  yet  he  is  with  the  dead!  It 
is  very  hard  to  adjust  myself  to  the  thought. 

My  young  friend  Rankin  and  I  had  been  travelling 
together  for  several  months  over  the  northern  and 
central  parts  of  Europe  ;  other  parties  had  been  with 
us  more  or  less,  but  we  had  agreed  to  make  the  tour 
into  the  East  together,  and  return  in  the  spring. 
Having  now  completed  our  brief  visit  in  Florence, 
made  doubly  pleasant  by  finding  friends  from  Amer- 
ica whom  we  had  long  known  and  valued  there,  it 


DYING     AWAY     FROM     HOME.  105 


Fever. 


was  time  for  us  to  set  off  for  Rome.  Rankin  had 
been  slightly  complaining  for  some  days,  but  had 
not  yielded  to  the  impression  that  he  must  be  sick ; 
yet  when  it  was  necessary  to  move,  he  found  him- 
self inadequate  to  the  effort,  and  we  called  in  a  phy- 
sician, Dr.  Wilson,  a  skillful  and  faithful  man.  He 
pronounced  his  disease  an  ordinary  case  of  the  fever 
of  the  climate,  such  as  strangers  are  often  seized  with, 
not  unlike  the  intermittent  fever  of  our  country.  It 
yielded  to  the  usual  remedies,  and  in  a  few  days  he 
was  free  from  the  fever,  and  was  declared  to  be  con- 
valescent. Indeed  he  was  so  far  restored  to  health 
that  his  physician  was  on  the  point  of  leaving  him, 
saying  that  he  had  now  only  to  get  well  by  himself. 

For  four  or  five  days  he  had  been  entirely  free 
from  fever,  and  was  engaged  with  me  in  making  a 
new  programme  of  our  future  route,  which  must  be 
varied  in  consequence  of  our  detention,  when  I  ob- 
served from  some  inconsistent  inquiries  that  his  mind 
was  wandering.  A  circumstance  here  occurred  that  is 
worth  recording  as  a  curious  instance  of  the  operations 
of  a  disordered  intellect.  In  a  foreign  language,  which 
he  was  sure  the  servant  would  not  understand,  he 
asked  me  to  send  him  out  of  the  room,  and  then  he 
made  a  communication  to  me,  in  confidence,  which 
showed  at  once  he  was  deranged.  Here  was  reason 
and  the  want  of  it  strangely  blended.  I  sent  for  the 
physician  in  all  haste,  and  he  perceived  at  once  that 
his  brain  was  affected,  and  in  a  few  hours  there  were 
fearful  evidences  that  effusion  had  taken  place.  The 
progress   of  the   disease  was  rapid  and    irresistible. 

E* 


106  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Vain  efforts.  Wanderings. 

Within  twelve  hours  of  these  new  symptoms,  Dr. 
Wilson  thought  it  impossible  for  him  to  live  six  hours. 
So  sudden !      So  terrible  too  ! 

The  six  hours  of  life  were  lengthened  through  suc- 
cessive days  and  nights,  while  every  energy  was  ex- 
hausted in  vain  attempts  to  stay  the  hand  of  death. 
Never  have  I  seen  such  a  battle  fought  between  death 
and  life.  When  physicians  and  friends  were  con- 
vinced that  no  more  could  be  done,  we  would  rally 
again  and  make  new  efforts,  forcing  the  wheels  of  life 
to  move  on,  hoping  that  nature  herself  would  rally 
and  carry  him  through.  All  this  time,  he  was  able  to 
respond  intelligently  to  every  question  we  proposed, 
though  all  his  inquiries  were  incoherent  and  astray. 
In  his  delirium  he  wandered  on  his  journey,  past 
and  future,  called  to  his  young  companions  in  his 
own  land,  wished  to  be  allowed  to  leave  his  present 
lodgings  and  go  onward  without  loss  of  time;  yet 
when  we  roused  him  from  these  reveries  and  spoke 
to  him,  he  knew  us  always,  and  answered  truly  to  all 
we  asked.  We  spoke  to  him  often  of  heaven  and  the 
way  there ;  and  one  whose  voice  might  sound  like 
that  of  a  sister,  spoke  gently  to  him  of  One  who  would 
be  more  to  him  than  mother  or  brother,  and  he  re- 
sponded firmly  and  confidently  that  he  trusted  in  the 
Saviour  and  in  none  other,  but  he  did  not  believe  he 
was  going  to  die. 

It  has  been  my  duty  to  meet  death  in  a  great  vari- 
ety of  forms,  and  under  circumstances  of  peculiar  trial; 
even  in  some  not  altogether  unlike  these :  for  here  I 
was  painfully  reminded  of  my  own  brother's  death  in 


DYING     AWAY    FROM    HOME.  107 

Corning.  Going. 

a  hotel,  away  from  home,  while  he  was  on  a  journey. 
But  we  were  all  around  him,  and  he  died  in  our  arms. 
It  is  home  any  where,  if  those  we  love  best  are  there. 
But  in  these  long  and  lonely  hours  of  watching  "by 
the  bed  of  this  dying  youth,  I  thought  I  had  never 
encountered  death  when  he  came  so  coldly,  and  so 
gloomily  to  do  his  work.     Yet  he  would  come. 

Mr.  Kinney  and  I  were  with  him.  It  is  Friday ; 
and  from  Monday  we  had  been  expecting  every  hour 
that  he  would  die.  He  had  just  said  that  he  wished 
us  to  persevere  in  using  the  same  means  we  had  em- 
ployed, and  we  had  assured  him  that  all  should  be 
done  that  man  could  do  for  him,  when  a  strong  con- 
vulsion seized  him.  He  had  passed  through  many 
slight  ones  before ;  but  this  was  fearful,  and  we  wrere 
soon  convinced  it  would  be  fatal.  Mr.  Kinney  held 
one  of  his  hands,  the  other  was  in  mine.  The  faith- 
ful Italian  servant,  who  had  been  with  him  fifteen 
successive  days  and  nights,  was  weeping  at  his  feet. 
Slowly  the  convulsion  seemed  to  pass  over ;  but  his 
breathing  was  more  difficult,  and  with  longer  inter- 
vals. His  pulse  was  imperceptible.  We  sat  on  his 
bedside,  and  in  silence  waited  for  his  soul  to  depart. 
Fifty-five  minutes  we  sat,  studying  the  mystery  of 
dying,  thinking  of  the  great  deep  into  w^hich  the 
spirit  was  passing — the  dread  abyss  of  infinite  here- 
after ! 

To  pause  on  the  threshold  of  life,  and  stop  there 
forever !  Is  death  a  great  blunder  in  nature  ?  Was 
this  young  man  endowed  with  mind,  health,  strength, 
cultivated  by  study,  improved  by  foreign  travel,  and 


108  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

All  over.  Burial.  Flowers. 

trained  only  to  drop  down  in  Italy,  and  go  out  like 
a  brief  candle,  in  darkness  ?  Or,  is  lie  stepping  into, 
another  world;  pursuing  his  journey  where  I  may 
not  follow  him  just  now ;  entering  upon  new  discov- 
eries in  knowledge,  and  rising  into  realms  of  light 
and  truth,  of  which  we  can  know  nothing  till  we  pass 
through  this  same  strange  process — this  change  ?  We 
call  it  dying.  I  think  it  is  just  beginning  to  live. 
By  a  strange  coincidence,  this  is  my  birth-day :  it  is 
the  birth-day  of  his  soul ! 

It  is  all  over  now.  His  breast  is  very  still.  We 
close  his  eyes — a  sacred  office  which  we  share  to- 
gether. 

Sabbath  morning  we  followed  his  remains  to  the 
grave.  Outside  the  walls  of  Florence  a  beautiful 
cemetery  is  laid  out  for  Protestants,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  Swiss  church ;  and  there  we  laid  him.  A 
young  American  lady  in  the  city,  who  had  never  seen 
our  young  friend,  but  who  was  sadly  interested  in  his 
fate,  wove  a  wreath  of  evergreen  and  white  flowers, 
which,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  was 
laid  on  his  tomb.  It  was  a  gentle  offering ;  the  flow- 
ers will  wither,  but  the  memory  of  the  act  will  be  fra- 
grant long.  The  American  artists,  and  others  who 
heard  of  the  sad  event,  gathered  with  us  at  the  chapel 
of  the  cemetery  in  the  early  morning — for  Protestants 
are  not  allowed  to  carry  out  their  dead  for  burial  after 
eight  o'clock — and  there  we  had  religious  services, 
and  left  the  remains  of  our  friend  among  those  of 
others  who,  like  him,  have  died  afar  from  home  and 
their  native  land. 


CHAPTER   X. 

ITALY  —  PISA  —  ROME. 

Leaving  Florence — Pisa — Leaning  Tower — Cathedral — Campo  Santo 
— Leghorn — A  Night  on  the  Sea — Civita  Vecchia — Ride  to  Rome 
— In  the  Gates — Capitoline  Hill — The  Forum — Ruins — Coliseum 
— Catacombs — Tomb  of  Cecilia  Metella — Of  Augustus. 

It  was  a  sad  morning  when  I  left  Florence. 

"_A  load  of  emptiness  was  on  my  heart, 

More  heavy  than  the  weight  of  actual  woe ; 
Nature,  too,  seemed  oppressed,  as  if  a  part 
Of  what  my  soul  suffered  she  did  know, 
And  would  a  fellowship  of  sadness  show." 

The  skies  wept  freely,  and  so  did  two  strong  men 
in  that  parting  embrace,  and  he  who  remained,  said, 
"You  have  made  us  a  precious  visit — it  has  been 
hallowed  by  death,  and  now  will  be  a  sacred  memory 
forever."  And  then  we  were  sundered,  and  I  was 
once  more  alone.  My  faithful  Italian  servant,  who 
really  seemed  to  love  me,  began  to  tell  me  of  Rome 
and  Naples,  and  I  was  amused  with  his  attempts  to 
amuse  me ;  the  queer  pleasures  he  described  as  in 
prospect,  and  which  he  was  sure  would  drive  away  all 
melancholy  and  restore  me  to  myself  again. 

PiSA  is  on  the  way  from  Florence  to  Leghorn,  and 
a  few  hours  there  will  furnish  quite  as  much  of  inter- 
est as  can  be  found  in  the  same  time  and  within  so 
small  a  space  in  Europe.     The  "Leaning  Tower"  is 


110  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Galileo.  Campo  Santo. 

reckoned  among  the  wonders  of  the  world,  and  justly 
so.  Standing  as  far  from  it  as  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  square,  it  excites  in  the  beholder's  mind  the 
constant  apprehension  that  it  is  going  over,  and  as  I 
walked  up  the  circular  stairway  that  leads  to  the 
summit,  I  was  all  the  time  hitting  one  side  or  the 
other  of  the  staircase,  so  far  does  it  hang  out  of  the 
perpendicular.  Galileo  often  climbed  these  stairs,  and 
here  performed  his  experiments  to  determine  the  fall 
of  heavy  bodies  ;  and  in  the  cathedral  close  at  hand,  is 
still  hanging  the  same  old  iron  chandelier  which,  when 
swinging,  suggested  to  him  the  idea  of  the  pendulum 
as  the  measure  of  time.  A  hundred  windows  of 
stained  glass  admit  a  dim  light,  by  which  I  could 
scarcely  see  the  paintings  that  adorn  this  church  in 
greater  numbers  than  any  other  in  Eiu-ope.  Some  of 
them  are  very  fine,  and  more  of  them  are  not. 

The  Campo  Santo  is  a  mausoleum  that  can  never 
be  forgotten  after  once  being  seen.  No  burial-place 
has  so  deeply  affected  me.  The  earth  was  brought 
from  Jerusalem  in  fifty  ships,  but  that  is  nothing. 
Artists  of  masterly  skill  have  for  five  centuries  been 
embellishing  it  with  painting  and  sculpture,  and  the 
old  sepulchres  of  Greece  and  Italy  have  been  robbed 
to  furnish  statues,  sarcophagi,  and  monuments  to  adorn 
this  sanctuary  of  the  dead.  It  was  a  fitting  place  to 
muse  in,  to  me  a  striking  representation  of  all  this 
land — a  land  of  the  past — a  land  of  sepulchres — of 
beauty,  but  of  such  beauty  only  as  can  not  die:  its 
hills,  and  plains,  and  sea  arc  here  as  they  were  when 
the  men  and  the  women  were  alive  for  whom  these 


ITALY  —  TISA — ROME.  Ill 


Swearing. 


marble    coffins   were   wrought   with   such    exquisite 
skill. 

Leghorn  is  a  seaport  with  no  objects  of  special  at- 
traction to  the  traveller.  Great  quantities  of  marble 
are  here  shipped  for  England  and  America,  and  I  was 
pleased  to  see  the  familiar  names  of  New  York  and 
Boston  on  the  ships  in  the  harbor,  and  to  hear  the 
good  old  tongue  of  my  native  land,  even  in  the  coarse 
and  sometimes  rather  hard  dialect  of  the  sailor.  But 
there  is  no  language,  I  believe,  so  complete  for  swear- 
ing in  as  the  Italian.  The  ease  and  ingenuity  are 
quite  peculiar,  with  which  a  man  manages  to  work  in 
a  string  of  oaths  of  every  degree  in  the  scale  of  pro- 
fanity. It  was  good  news  to  me  that  a  steamer  was 
to  start  at  four  p.  M.  for  Civita  Vecchia. 

In  spite  of  the  rain — which  was  now  pouring — and 
the  prospect  of  a  rough  night,  I  put  off  in  a  row-boat, 
and  got  on  board  the  Anatole,  a  small  screw-steamer, 
not  a  regular  passage  boat,  and  found  but  one  cabin 
passenger  to  share  the  steamer  with  me.  It  was  a 
gloomy  sight  to  look  into  that  prison  of  a  cabin,  and 
then  to  look  out  on  the  Mediterranean,  heaving  now 
in  the  storm.  The  sense  of  loneliness  was  very  op- 
pressive, and  busy  memory  brought  no  relief.  An 
hour  or  two  out,  and  the  vessel  rolled  so  fearfully  that 
I  could  find  no  place  of  security  but  my  berth,  and 
there  I  retreated  for  the  night,  trusting  the  boat  to 
Providence  and  the  seamen.  Antonio  came  at  my 
call,  and  sat  down  by  my  side  to  give  me  the  pleas- 
ure of  his  company,  and  deliver  me  from  the  trouble 
of  thinking  by  continuing  his  stories  of  low  life  in 


112        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  boot-black  baron.  Two  pauls. 

Italy.  One  of  the  most  entertaining  chapters  in  this 
series  would  be  the  report  of  his  narratives  that  even- 
ing.    I  had  heard  of  a  Baron ,  who  is  now  one 

of  the  richest  men  in  this  country,  who  was  once  a 

boot-black  in  the  establishment  of  the  Duke  of ; 

and  finding  that  he  was  once  a  fellow-servant  of  An- 
tonio, I  got  his  history — strange,  romantic,  diverting 
even ;  for,  in  fact,  the  man  has  fought  his  way  up 
from  servitude  to  royal  honors,  and  more  than  once 
has  represented  his  government  at  foreign  courts,  the 
equal  and  companion  of  the  very  men  whose  horses 
he  once  groomed.  And  when  Antonio  had  thus 
whiled  away  the  evening  for  me,  he  stretched  him- 
self on  the  floor  close  by  and  slept  soundly,  while  I 
slept  lightly  and  dreamed.  The  morning  came,  and 
with  it  the  sight  of  Civita  Vecchia.  The  storm  was 
past,  the  sun  was  out — a  cool,  bracing  morning,  re- 
viving to  a  worn  man.  An  hour  brought  us  to  an- 
chorage ;  but  more  than  an  hour  was  spent  in  getting 
the  ordinary  leave  to  come  ashore.  And  when  at  last 
the  passports  had  been  examined,  and  the  permission 
granted,  a  system, of  plunder  commenced,  the  like  of 
which  I  have  fortunately  not  had  since  coming  abroad. 
My  own  servant  was  not  allowed  to  carry  any  thing 
ashore  ;  but  a  special  porter  was  required  for  each 
man's  effects,  that  more  might  be  demanded  in  the 
way  of  fees.  At  the  custom-house  at  least  three  sets 
of  men  were  to  be  paid,  and  at  the  diligence  office  as 
many  ;  and  they  came  upon  me  for  two  pauls  (twenty 
cents)  apiece,  until  I  told  Antonio  to  look  about,  and 
if  he  could  find  any  body  else  who  wanted  two  pauls 


ITALY  —  PISA  —  ROME.  113 


Den  of  thieves. 


to  give  them  to  him,  but  not  to  let  any  of  them  come 
near  me.  But  Civita  Vecchia  is  a  den  of  thieves.  It 
is  the  site  of  the  great  prison-house,  where  the  prison- 
ers of  the  Eoman  States  are  confined,  and  the  people 
outside  the  walls  appear  to  be  contaminated  by  the 
association.  Eight  glad  was  I  to  be  started  off  to- 
ward noon  in  a  post-chaise  for  Home.  At  a  rattling 
pace  we  rode  on  through  a  deeply-uninteresting  coun- 
try ;  no  towns,  no  villas,  no  historical  associations  to 
enliven  the  journey.  At  each  change — which  was 
every  ten  miles — the  postillions  called  for  a  fee,  and 
this  we  gave  according  to  the  freedom  with  which 
they  had  whipped  the  horses ;  and  at  eight  in  the 
evening  we  saw  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  shining  in 
the  moonlight,  and  soon  were  standing  in  the  gates 
of  "the  Eternal  City." 

We  stood  here  a  few  minutes  only  while  our  pass- 
ports were  examined,  and  then  I  found  my  way  to 
the  Hotel  d'Amerique,  kept  by  D.  Costanzi,  an  ex- 
cellent house,  that  may  be  safely  commended  to  all 
travellers,  and  especially  to  Americans  who  visit 
Home.  It  stands  on  the  Via  Babuino,  which  runs 
from  the  Piazza  de  Spagna  to  the  Piazza  del  Popolo, 
one  of  the  best  locations  in  the  city. 

To  be  in  Eome  is  said  to  form  an  epoch  in  the  life 
of  man.  The  sensation  is  new,  there  is  no  doubt  of 
it ;  to  which  every  thinking  man  will  confess,  when 
he  comes,  for  the  first  time,  to  stand  among  these 
memorials  of  a  departed  world.  We  may  have  seen 
antiquities  in  the  museums  of  modern  cities,  and  here 
and  there  met  with  a  ruin  that  dates  somewhere  be- 


114        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Capitolinc  Hill.  Kcornal  City. 

hind  the  death  of  Caesar ;  but  when  we  plant  our  feet 
among  the  falling  pillars,  and  crumbling  arches,  and 
ruined  temples  of  Rome,  Ave  feel  that  another  world  is 
around  us,  and  the  vision  of  its  grandeur  and  its  de- 
cay comes  up  and  fills  the  mind  with  awe. 

Perhaps  much  of  this  emotion  is  to  be  referred  to 
one's  early  associations ;  and  he  who  has  been  more 
familiar  from  childhood  with  the  history  of  Greece 
and  Rome  than  witli  that  of  England,  will  naturally 
be  more  enthusiastic  when  at  last  the  longings  of  a 
life-time  are  gratified,  and  he  finds  himself  one  fine 
morning  on  the  top  of  the  tower  of  the  Capitol,  on 
Capitoline  Hill !  Here  at  last !  And  this  is  Rome ! 
This  was  Rome.  "Trojafuit,  et  ingens  gloria  Teu- 
crorum"  Alas,  it  is  Rome  no  more !  These  are  her 
tomb-stones  that  you  see  at  your  feet.  No  letters 
record  her  story,  but  these  pillars  have  tongues,  and 
these  arches  are  all  eloquent  of  might  and  glory  that 
have  found  a  grave.  The  seven  hills  we  first  look 
for ;  and  if  the  feeling  is  disappointment  to  find  that 
what  has  been  so  great  in  history  is  so  small  in  real- 
ity, the  history  itself  of  each  one  of  them  comes 
thronging  on  the  mind,  and  soon  the  idea  takes 
strong  possession  of  the  soul,  that  here  sat  the  mis- 
tress of  the  world — victorious,  imperial,  Eternal 
Rome. 

How  vain  that  word  eternal,  with  such  evidences 
of  mortality  as  these  around  us !  How  mean  the 
mightiest  monuments  of  man's  art  and  power,  when 
they  are  lying  heaps  on  heaps  in  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death !      There  is  the  Tarpeian  rock,   on 


ITALY  —  PISA  —  ROME.  115 

Forum.  Ruins. 

which  we  stood  as  we  were  coming  up,  and  that  still 
remains  a  memorial  of  treason,  of  vengeance,  of  justice, 
a  place  of  blood.  The  rock  stands,  and  these  hills 
stand  as  God  made  them ;  and  what  he  builds,  he 
only  destroys.  But  this  Forum  with  its  straggling 
columns,  a  few  of  them  standing,  more  of  them 
strewed  upon  the  ground,  and  this  ground  itself, 
fifteen  feet  below  the  level  of  the  modern  city,  is  to 
me  a  melancholy  sight ;  and,  positively,  I  was  wil- 
ling to  weep  over  the  fall  of  so  much  beauty  and  glo- 
ry. Those  three  columns  standing  so  stately  and 
grand,  formed  an  angle  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter  To- 
nans  ;  and  those  eight  magnificent  granite  pillars,  with 
their  crumbling  cornice,  belong  to  the  portico  of  the 
Temple  of  Saturn :  one  of  the  noblest  ruins  of  them 
all,  is  the  basement  of  the  Temple  of  Peace,  stupen- 
dous in  its  proportions  ;  and  there  is  the  arch  of  Sep- 
timus Severus,  wonderfully  preserved,  from  which 
begins  the  street  that  led  up  to  the  citadel,  the  old 
pavement  still  lying  there,  on  which  the  armies  of  the 
Emperors  trod.  That  solitary  column — "the  name- 
less column  with  a  buried  base" — is  no  longer  so,  for 
an  inscription  has  been  found,  proving  it  to  have  been 
raised  in  honor  of  Phocas ;  and  not  far  off  is  the  site 
of  the  temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux,  and  the  three  cel- 
ebrated columns  over  which  antiquaries  have  disputed 
for  a  century  without  settling  the  question  of  their  or- 
igin. I  prefer  to  call  them,  with  the  older  critics,  the 
remains  of  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Stator.  How  sim- 
ple, yet  how  sublime!  Three  columns  in  a  line, 
with  a  broken  cornice  over  them ;  yet  how  perfect  in 


116  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Arch  of  Titus.  Golden  house. 

proportion  !  models  to  this  day  of  the  beautiful  in  Co- 
rinthian architecture,  and  stirring  vain  regrets  that 
what  was  once  over  and  around  them  has  passed 
away.  But  look  still  farther  off,  and  see  that  mag- 
nificent arch  of  Titus,  reared  in  memory  of  his  con- 
quest of  Jerusalem.  If  we  were  near  enough,  we 
could  see  upon  its  front  the  emblems  and  the  record 
of  his  bloody  and  cursed  triumph  over  the  city  of  God. 
The  golden  candlestick  which  was  irrevocably  lost  in 
the  Tiber,  as  it  was  borne  along  in  the  battle  of  Con- 
stantine  and  Maxentius,  is  sculptured  here  with  other 
bas-reliefs ;  the  only  reliable  representations  of  those 
Jewish  symbols,  and  now  preserved  on  Pagan  monu- 
ments of  Judea's  fall.  I  asked  for  the  palace  of  the 
Caesars,  and  was  sad  when  the  Palatine  Hill  was 
pointed  to ;  and  all  the  ruins  there  were  scarcely  suf- 
ficient to  make  it  credible  that  Augustus,  Tiberius, 
and  Caligula  had  expended  treasures  in  adorning  and 
fortifying  this  spot,  which  is  now  a  stable  and  a 
wretched  garden.  Nero  built  his  golden  house  on 
the  slope  of  this  hill,  and  other  emperors  added  as 
wealth  and  taste  or  caprice  suggested ;  but  now  it  is 
a  mingled  mass  of  rubbish,  defying  all  attempts  to 
define  the  limits  of  the  former  piles  of  marble  that 
were  once  the  abode  of  kings. 

Look  again.  There,  at  our  left  hand,  is  the  loftiest 
ruin  in  Rome,  and  you  need  not  tell  me  its  name. 
We  have  known  it  for  thirty  years.  It  is  the  Coli- 
seum i  there  was  never  but  one  such  building ;  and 
pictures  of  it  have  been  spread  the  world  over.  It  is 
a  brave  old  ruin,  standing  up  there  as  if  defying  heav- 


ITALY  —  PISA  —  ROME.  117 

The  arena.  The  dome. 

en  and  earth.  And  it  always  did.  Vespasian  began 
it,  and  Titus  made  his  Jewish  captives  complete  it ; 
and  when  its  huge  circle  was  carried  up  with  four 
successive  galleries,  a  hundred  thousand  men  and 
women  sat  down  within  these  walls,  and  looked  on 
while  five  thousand  wild  beasts  tore  one  another  and 
their  human  victims  into  tatters,  amidst  the  plaudits 
of  the  admiring  throng.  In  that  arena  the  early  mar- 
tyrs of  our  faith  were  devoured  by  lions  whom  hun- 
ger had  made  fierce ;  and  the  dens  are  still  there 
which  were  once  the  cages  of  the  beasts  that  thirsted 
for  and  drank  the  Christian's  blood.  The  prophecy 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  pilgrims  recorded  by  the  venera- 
ble Bede  was  not  fulfilled : 

"  While  stands  the  Coliseum,  Rome  shall  stand ; 
When  falls  the  Coliseum,  Rome  shall  fall ; 
And  when  Rome  falls,  the  world !" 

Kome  and  her  Coliseum  have  fallen,  but  their  fall  is 
the  rising  again  of  the  world. 

And  when  we  have  looked  on  till  the  soul  is  pained 
with  contemplation  among  these  monuments  of  de- 
parted greatness,  turn  to  modern  Rome,  and  behold 
the  towers  and  domes  of  more  than  three  hundred 
churches,  of  which  the  sublimest  is  the  one  on  which 
the  eye  of  every  traveller  lingers,  as  the  Moslem  gazes 
for  the  first  time  on  the  minarets  of  Mecca.  There 
is  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  the  great  work  of  Michael 
Angelo,  and,  with  one  exception,  the  most  perfect 
dome  in  all  the  world.  How  it  hangs  there,  making 
one  to  doubt  whether  it  rose  by  its  own  buoyancy, 


118  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


or  was  let  down  by  an  invisible  chain  from  the  blue 
dome  that  bends  above  it.  And  when  we  have  stud- 
ied all  these  and  other  objects  of  interest  and  attrac- 
tion which  are  seen  from  this  tower,  look  off  upon  the 
wide  Campagna,  through  which  the  thundering  legions 
went  to  war,  and  came  home  with  spoils  of  nations, 
and  royal  captives  chained  to  their  conquering  cars ; 
and  off  still  farther  to  those  Sabine  Hills,  and  the 
Volscian  mountains  and  heights,  the  names  of  which 
are  as  familiar  as  household  words  to  every  reader  of 
Latin  history  or  verse.  And  when  you  have  taken 
in  these  views,  and  fairly  formed  in  your  own  mind  a 
map  of  old  Rome,  you  are  prepared  to  descend  and 
begin  to  look  at  one  after  another  of  the  antiquities 
which  you  have  been  merely  getting  a  bird's-eye 
glance  of  from  the  top  of  the  tower. 

Friends  who  had  been  some  weeks  in  Rome  were 
my  guides  to  all  the  wonders.  Having  already  made 
themselves  familiar  with  every  object  of  interest,  they 
were  as  able  as  willing  to  lead  me  to  these  altars  of 
dead  paganism  and  half  dead  Christianity,  of  which 
this  city  of  two  dispensations  is  the  Jerusalem.  They 
led  me  also  beneath  the  surface  of  things,  and  showed 
me  the  tombs  of  the  Scipios,  and  the  Catacombs — 
those  mysterious  excavations  which  have  been  the 
cemeteries  of  the  dead,  and  the  sanctuaries  of  the  liv- 
ing. An  old  monk  with  a  dim  candle,  which  made 
the  darkness  and  his  own  ugliness  the  more  formi- 
dable, conducted  us  through  long  passages  dug  from 
solid  rock,  which  seemed  to  be  endless  passages  lead- 
ing to  nothing  but  empty  shelves  for  coffins,  and  tab- 


ITALY PISA ROME.  119 

Cecilia  Metella.  Circus. 

ular  stones  with  inscriptions  dating  "back  of  the  Chris- 
tian era ;  and  at  last  he  "brought  us  out  by  another 
way  from  the  entrance,  and  we  breathed  freely  again 
on  coming  into  the  upper  air.  Such  infernal  regions 
as  these  might  have  given  to  old  mythologists  the 
idea  of  their  hell;  an  idea  which,  in  some  form  or 
other,  has  formed  a  part  of  every  system  of  religious 
doctrine  of  the  pagan  or  Christian  world. 

Riding  out  a  little  farther  on  the  Appian  Way,  we 
came  to  the  tomb  of  Cecilia  Metella,  which  has  stood 
nineteen  hundred  years.  It  is  more  like  a  fortress 
than  a  sepulchre,  and,  indeed,  has  been  so  used  in 
times  of  war.  It  is  a  round  tower  seventy  feet  across, 
and  built  on  a  bed  of  lava,  with  strength  to  resist  the 
ravages  of  time ;  and  has  withstood  the  robberies  of 
successive  generations,  who  have  plundered  it  not  only 
of  the  beautiful  white  marble  sarcophagus  which  stood 
deep  in  its  centre,  but  of  all  the  ornaments  and  vast 
wealth  of  its  materials,  which  have  been  carried  off  to 
build  or  adorn  the  modern  palaces  of  Romans  who 
live  on  the  monuments  of  the  past.  Within  a  short 
walk  of  this  remarkable  tomb  is  the  Circus  of  Romu- 
lus Maxentius,  the  outer  walls  of  which  are  still 
standing,  showing  the  form  and  dimensions  of  thi3 
amphitheatre,  which  would  contain  300,000  spec- 
tators !  Here  the  chariot  races  were  run,  and  those 
equestrian  sports  where  the  evitata  mcta  of  Horace 
drew  down  the  applause  of  the  multitude,  and  vic- 
tory, as  in  the  Olympic  games,  was  rewarded  with  a 
fading  crown. 

I  went  with  my  young  friends  to  visit  the  mauso- 


120  EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Mausoleum.  Tableaux. 

leum  of  Augustus.  And,  sad  to  tell,  we  found  a  mod- 
ern circus  within  its  venerable  walls — the  sepulchre  of 
the  old  emperor  a  theatre  for  horses  ridden  by  women 
under  the  full  light  of  a  Roman  sun.  But  the  riding 
was  not  bad.  A  beautiful  girl,  with  scant  patterns 
for  skirt,  and  none  for  sleeves,  was  exhibiting  tableaux 
vivante  on  horseback  with  a  handsome  young  man ; 
and  when  he  stood  erect  on  the  horse,  and  carried  her 
around  the  ring  in  his  arms,  while  she  struggled  to 
get  free,  the  scene  did  somewhat  resemble  the  Rape 
of  the  Sabines,  with  which  the  settlement  of  this 
haunt  of  robbers  is  identified. 


'■::■■■ 


% 


CHAPTER    XL 

WONDERS     OF     ROME. 

St.  Peter's  Clmrcli — Village  oa  the  Roof— Ascent  to  the  Ball — View 
in  Front — Utility  and  Worship — The  young  Lady's  Idea — Mosaics 
— Kissing  St.  Peter's  toe,  and  the  Pope's — Heathen  Mythology 
— Canonizing  a  Saint — Pope  Pius  IX.  appears — Ceremonies — 
The  Vatican  Paintings  and  Statuary — Laocoon — Apollo  Belvidere 
■ — Churches  of  Rome — Mummy  Monks — Sacred  Stairs — Pompey's 
Statue — Dying  Gladiator — American  Artists  in  Rome. 

If  an  army  of  50,000  may  stand  in  St.  Peter's  and 
leave  room  enough  for  the  people  who  wish  to  wor- 
ship, it  certainly  does  not  impress  one  on  entering 
that  its  dimensions  are  so  vast.  Such,  however,  is 
the  feeling  of  disappointment  with  which  we  first  look 
on  those  objects  which  have  long  and  powerfully  af- 
fected our  imaginations.  An  image  of  vastness  may 
have  filled  the  mind  that  would  not  he  satisfied  if  the 
reality  were  far  beyond  what  we  find  it.  But  if  St. 
Peter's  has  reached  its  growth  now,  it  did  certainly 
grow  rapidly  while  I  was  in  Rome.  Each  successive 
visit  revealed  more  and  more  of  its  extent,  and  when 
at  last  it  was  crowded  with  priests  and  people  and  an 
army  of  soldiers,  and  the  Pope  and  the  Cardinals 
marched  through  the  kneeling  crowd,  I  felt  the  mag- 
nitude of  the  edifice  from  the  number  gathered  within 
its  walls.  And  when  I  went  alone  along  up  its  wind- 
ing way  to  the  dome,  and  from  successive  balconies 


124  EUBOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

On  the  roof.  Piazza. 

looked  clown  into  the  interior  upon  men  as  children 
walking  upon  the  marble  pavement,  the  immensity  of 
the  structure  was  even  more  impressive.  And  to  find 
upon  the  roof  a  village  of  houses,  with  regular  streets, 
and  the  inhabitants  engaged  in  the  ordinary  occupa- 
tions of  domestic  life,  the  cats  playing  at  the  door, 
and  the  fountain  pouring  its  water  for  constant  use,  it 
looked  as  if  St.  Peter's  were  a  little  world  by  itself. 
And  then  upward  still  I  pressed  my  way  by  an  iron 
ladder  through  a  narrow  passage  just  large  enough 
for  one  man  to  squeeze  himself  through,  and  was  in 
the  ball  above  the  dome!  In  the  walls  below  are 
marble  tablets  recording  the  names  of  princes  and 
princesses  who  have  actually  made  this  journey  into 
the  ball,  and  the  monuments  have  been  erected  to 
immortalize  the  fact. 

It  is  impossible  to  persuade  any  man  that  the  front 
of  St.  Peter's  is  in  good  taste  for  a  church ;  it  would 
be  fitting  for  a  palace  or  a  theatre,  and  by  a  sadly 
strange  failure  in  architecture,  the  devotional  power 
so  sedulously  sought  after  in  all  the  buildings  de- 
signed for  Roman  Catholic  worship,  and  often  so  won- 
derfully achieved,  has  been  lost  in  the  interior  as  well 
as  the  external  appearance  of  this  the  most  magnifi- 
cent temple  that  the  Christian  religion  has  produced. 
And  when  one  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  piazza,  or 
square  in  front,  near  the  obelisk  of  red  granite,  which 
Tasso  has  celebrated,  and  looks  around  him,  at  the 
colonnade  with  three  hundred  marble  pillars,  forming 
the  oval  sides  of  the  place,  the  master-work  of  Ber- 
nini, as  the  dome  is  of  Michael  Ano-elo,  and  then  at- 


WONDERS     OF     ROME.  125 

Cost  of  churches.  An  anthem. 

tempts  to  embrace  the  church  and  the  Vatican  adjoin- 
ing, he  must  be  deeply  impressed  by  the  presence,  if 
he  is  not  more  or  less  than  a  man.  The  truth  is  that 
we  are  prone  to  look  at  these  things  with  the  eyes  of 
our  prejudice  wide  open ;  and  as  we  despise  the  pomp 
of  pagan  and  Roman  worship,  we  are  willing  to  con- 
demn the  amazing  costliness  of  these  temples,  which 
we  believe  to  be  inappropriate  to  the  service  of  the 
Spiritual  Deity  of  our  adoration.  It  is  dangerous  to 
take  this  ground,  unless  we  carry  the  iconoclasm  it 
encourages  into  the  splendid  churches  of  Protestant- 
ism, as  far  exceeding  the  utilities  of  worship  as  these 
temples  surpass  ours.  For  one,  I  think  the  Romish 
church  rarely  spends  money  to  a  better  purpose  than 
in  embellishing  these  sacred  edifices ;  and  since  she 
has  made  art  in  all  its  developments  tributary  to  her 
material  glory,  we  may  admire  whatever  is  beautiful 
and  sublime  in  the  works  of  the  great  masters,  who 
have  expended  their  mightiest  powers  in  her  praise. 

Here  I  recall  the  remark  of  the  young  invalid  lady 
on  the  Rhine,  who  said,  "A  church  is  not  for  man  to 
worship  in  only ;  it  is  itself  a  thing  of  praise  ;  it  is  an 
anthem,  and  is  eloquent  continually  of  Him  for  whom 
it  is  reared."  On  no  other  principle  than  this  can  we 
defend  such  temples  as  Solomon's — a  dedication  to  the 
Almighty,  a  worship,  a  constant  appeal  to  the  people 
who  rejoiced  in  the  magnificence  of  its  proportions  and 
the  uncounted  treasures  exhausted  in  its  ornament. 
And,  after  all,  there  is  much  to  be  said  on  this  subject 
in  connection  with  the  Jewish,  Roman,  and  Protest- 
ant religions,  all  of  which  have  inconsistencies  in  the 


126  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Mosaics.  Kissing  tors. 

matter  of  church  architecture  hard  to  he  reconciled. 
Let  us  leave  them. 

In  the  mosaics  of  St.  Peter's,  as  I  saw  them  "by  the 
streaming  light  of  a  western  sun,  there  was  a  wealth 
of  beauty  to  admire.  To  comprehend  the  mode  by 
which  the  most  sj)lendid  painting  can  he  copied  with 
this  work  in  stone,  so  as  to  fairly  rival  the  original, 
is  quite  beyond  my  conception,  yet  it  is  here,  in 
numerous  pictures  of  vast  dimensions  and  prodigious 
effect. 

Every  stranger  stops  in  front  of  the  bronze  statue 
of  St.  Peter,  sarcastically  reported  to  be  an  antique 
Jupiter,  as  he  sits  with  his  great  toe  projecting  over 
the  pedestal.  The  faithful  are  constantly  kissing  it ; 
some  of  the  more  fastidious  wiping  it  off  with  a  pocket 
handkerchief,  that  they  may  not  kiss  what  was  left 
by  the  last  devotee,  but  the  most  of  them  following- 
one  another  with  no  such  interval.  It  is  so  high  that 
the  shorter  women  and  the  children  are  not  able  to 
reach  it  with  their  lips,  and  they  must  be  held  up,  or 
content  themselves  with  touching  the  toe  with  their 
fingers,  and  kissing  the  ringers.  As  might  be  ex- 
pected, the  successive  crowds  of  kissers  have  sensi- 
bly worn  away  the  metallic  toe,  and  they  have  now 
reached  nearly  to  the  first  joint,  but  it  is  good  for 
ages  to  come  in  the  same  service.  I  confess  I  would 
rather  kiss  this  bronze  statue  than  the  live  Pope's 
toe,  as  the  priests  are  permitted  to  do  in  the  holy 
week. 

Among  the  works  of  art  that  adorn  this  temple,  if 
this  Peter  is  not  Jupiter,  there  are  certainly  some  un- 


I 


WONDERS     OF     ROME.  129 


Heiitlien  deities. 


mistakable  subjects  from  heathen  mythology,  as  the 
groups  of  Jupiter  and  Ixda,  a  doubtful  subject  for 
any  gallery  in  a  decent  world,  and  the  Hope  of  Gany- 
mede,  with  some  nymphs  and  satyrs,  all  of  which  are 
on  the  front  door  of  this  holiest  of  holy  buildings  in 
the  Romish  Christendom.  But  the  variety  of  charac- 
ter and  persons  always  to  be  seen  within  these  walls 
is  not  the  least  instructive  study.  In  or  near  the 
various  chapels  are  confessionals  for  sinners  of  every 
tongue,  and  here  sits  the  priest  to  receive  the  story 
of  the  penitent,  and  to  prescribe  the  terms  of  absolu- 
tion. At  times  the  penance  is  made  exceedingly 
easy,  and  a  slight  tap  on  the  head  of  the  kneeling 
sinner,  from  a  long  stick  in  the  hands  of  a  priest, 
signifies  punishment,  and  pardon  follows  the  gentle 
blow. 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
gorgeous  spectacle  which  this  church  presented,  when 
its  columns  and  arches  were  adorned  for  a  festival,  on 
which  occasion  a  new  saint  was  introduced  into  the 
calendar  with  all  the  pomps  of  this  splendid  ritual. 
Scarlet  hangings  and  gilded  festoons,  and  fresh  paint- 
ings on  massive  frames,  prepared  for  this  single  cere- 
mony at  great  cost  and  labor,  were  all  added  to  the 
daily  decorations  of  the  temple,  while  within  the 
choir,  and  over  and  around  the  high  altar,  not  less 
than  two  thousand  candles  were  burning,  arranged 
with  such  picturesque  effect  as  to  make  crowns,  and 
crosses,  and  flowers ;  yet  so  vast  is  the  space  into 
which  these  candles  are  to  throw  their  beams,  they 
seem  to  one  in  the  middle  of  the  house  as  stars  in  the 

F* 


180 


EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


The  Pope. 


far-off  heavens.  For  an  hour  we  sat  not  far  from  the 
altar  where  the  privileged  few  were  permitted  to  en- 
ter, while  the  pressing  thousands  on  thousands  were 
kept  back  by  Swiss  soldiers,  armed  as  on  the  field. 
At  last  our  curiosity  was  gratified  by  the  approach 
of  Pius  IX.,  attended  by  his  cardinals.  He  was  gor- 
geously clad :  a  scarlet  robe  over  a  white  gown ;  al- 
though his  mien  was  less  imperial  than  that  of  Car- 
dinal Wiseman,   or  any  of  those  in  his  train.       He 


THE    POPE    TN    TITS    PONTIFICAL   ROBES. 


WONDERS     OF     ROME. 


131 


People  fall  down. 


CARDINAL   EST   FULL   COSTUME. 

waved  his  hand  first  on  one  side  and  then  on  the 
other  as  he  advanced,  and  the  kneeling  multitude 
gratefully  acknowledged  the  benediction.  He  knelt 
when  he  came  near  the  altar,  and  all  the  cardinals, 
for  whom  a  scarlet  cushion  had  been  brought  in  by  a 
liveried  servant  of  each,  knelt  behind  him  while  he 
offered  a  silent  prayer.  And  then  he  retired  as  he 
had  come,  through  the  prostrate  throng,  humbling 
themselves  as  if  a  god  were  passing  by.  No  notice 
was  taken  of  those  who  did  not  kneel.     If  any  do  not 


132  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Forty-three  popes. 


choose  to  conform  to  the  mode  of  worship  in  Home, 
they  will  not  he  interfered  with,  provided  they  at- 
tempt no  disrespect  to  the  religion  of  others. 

Not  much  may  be  said  in  praise  of  the  statuary  in 
St.  Peter's.  By  some  strange  fatality,  even  great 
artists  have  failed  when  working  for  this  temple, 
where  tfhey  would  leave  their  greatest  efforts.  Four 
statues  of  Greek  and  Latin  theologians  support  the 
pulpit,  and  four  colossal  statues  of  distinguished  saints 
that  fill  separate  niches  are  far  from  pleasing.  The 
chair  of  the  Apostle  Peter  is  itself  enthroned  above 
the  altar,  supported  by  four  fathers  of  the  church,  and 
reverenced  as  the  veritable  chair  in  which  Peter  sat 
when  he  was  in  Rome. 

It  is  the  labor  of  days  to  visit  all  the  monuments, 
and  the  several  chapels,  including  the  subterranean 
chapel,  which  no  woman  may  enter  without  permis- 
sion from  a  cardinal,  except  on  Whitsunday,  when 
none  but  women  may.  To  me  there  was  far  more  of 
interest,  after  having  caught  the  form  and  feature  of 
the  place,  to  seek  the  more  impressive  works  of  art 
with  which  the  city  is  filled,  and  of  which  so  few  are 
found  in  this  the  most  wonderful  edifice  in  Rome. 
It  deserves  all  the  praise  that  has  been  lavished  upon 
it,  for  despite  the  faults  which  are  so  prominent,  it  is 
a  glorious  pile,  and  has  no  rival  in  all  the  world. 
Three  centuries  rolled  away  while  it  was  in  building. 
Forty-three  popes  were  on  the  throne,  and  successive- 
ly contributed  to  its  completion ;  some  doing  little 
but  to  undo  what  their  predecessors  had  achieved. 
Michael  Angelo  would  have  made  it  as  near  perfection 


WONDERS     OF     ROME.  133 

Good  out  of  evil.  Vatican. 

as  human  genius  could  have  carried  such  a  work,  but 
he  died,  and  his  successors  failed  to  perfect  his  de- 
signs. It  cost  such  enormous  sums  of  money  that 
the  sale  of  indulgences  was  pushed  to  that  extreme 
which  produced  a  revulsion  in  the  public  mind,  and 
resulted,  as  it  is  said,  in  the  Protestant  Reformation ! 
Probably  more  than  fifty  millions  of  dollars  were 
spent  in  its  erection,  and  nearly  half  a  million  are 
consumed  every  year  in  keeping  it  in  repair. 

The  Vatican  Palace,  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years  the  residence  of  the  Popes,  is  near  St.  Peter's. 
Who  has  not  read  or  heard  of  the  "thunders  of  the 
Vatican."  They  are  mere  thunder  now,  with  no  light- 
ning to  kill,  and  the  old  man  who  sits  on  the  seven 
hills  is  one  of  the  meanest  of  princes.  He  can  not  sit 
on  his  own  throne  to-day,  without  the  help  of  foreign 
powers.  Pope  after  pope  added  to  the  magnitude  and 
splendor  of  this  palace,  until  it  is  now  no  less  than 
1277  feet,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  long.  Ascend 
the  Scala  Regia,  designed  by  Bernini,  and  renowned 
for  the  beauty  of  its  perspective.  It  is  called  the 
most  perfect  staircase  in  the  world.  Admire  the  fres- 
coes on  the  walls  of  the  outer  galleries.  There  is  the 
handiwork  of  Raphael.  Enter  the  library.  It  is  a 
thousand  feet  long !  It  would  require  a  week  to  make 
a  cursory  examination  of  the  contents.  Its  manu- 
scripts are  invaluable  ;  some  twenty-four  thousand  are 
here,  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  by  purchase, 
by  gift,  and  by  the  fortune  of  war.  Ascend  to  the 
Sistine  Chapel.  "Would  that  we  might  hear  the  3B- 
serere  now.      But  we  have  heard  the  same  choir  in  St. 


134        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


Last  judgment.  ™?  pictures. 

Peter's,  and  can  not  be  here  to  listen  to  the  wonderful 
music  in  the  Holy  Week.     We  enter  a  dark,  plain, 
long  and  lofty  room  with  galleries  around  three  sides 
of  it.     The  roof  is  laid  off  in  compartments  filled  with 
fresco  paintings  from  Scripture  history,  the  work  of 
Michael  Angelo,   and  here  are   some  of  the  noblest 
results  of  that  great  master's  labor.     But  torn  to  the 
wall  at  the  end  of  the  room,  and  see  the  picture  pro- 
nounced by  great  critics  to  be  the  grandest  in  the  world! 
It    is    the    "Last    Judgment,"  by    Michael    Angelo. 
Sixty  feet  long  and  thirty  feet  broad,  filled  with  fig- 
ures, bringing  out  the  most  wonderful  variety  of  pas- 
sion that  the  genius  of  man  has  ever  conceived :  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,  the  rising  and  the  risen,  the 
justified  and  the  damned,  saints,  angels,  devils,  and 
every  conceivable  shape  of  grief,  horror,  despair,  and 
woe,  combine  to  make  it,  even  in  its  present  faded, 
smoked,  and  shattered  state,  like  Milton's  archangel 
ruined,  a  glory  even  in  its  decay.     Yet  there  is  so 
much   extravagance  in  the   picture,  paganism  being 
thrust  in  to  embellish  it,  the  painter's  vengeance,  too, 
upon  his  enemies  being  seen  in  the  ridiculous  exhibi- 
tions he  makes  of  them  even  in  torment,  that  much 
of  the  grandeur  of  the  painting  is  destroyed.     My  ad- 
miration did  not  amount  to  enthusiasm,  but  it  was 
oreat  nevertheless. 

Fifty  pictures  are  a  small  collection  compared  with 
the  treasures  of  Florence,  whose  name  is  Legion  ;  but 
these  are  all  precious,  perhaps  worth  the  whole  of 
any  other  gallery  though  boasting  its  thousands.  The 
master-piece  of  Raphael,  his  "  Transfiguration,"  hangs 


WONDERS     OF     ROME.  135 


Eaphael.  Pagan  and  Christian. 

in  the  Vatican.  It  was  the  last,  as  well  as  the  great- 
est, of  that  master's  works,  and  he  died,  at  the  early 
age  of  thirty-seven,  while  yet  engaged  upon  it.  It 
was  spread  over  his  dead  body  at  his  funeral.  Hence 
the  lines  of  Rogers — 

"And  when  all  beheld 
Him  where  he  lay,  how  changed  from  yesterday — 
Him  in  that  hour  cut  off,  and  at  his  head 
His  last  great  work ;  when  entering  in,  they  looked, 
Now  on  the  dead,  then  on  that  master-piece — 
Now  on  his  face  lifeless  and  colorless, 
Then  on  those  forms  divine  that  lived  and  breathed, 
And  would  live  on  for  ages  :  all  were  moved, 
And  sighs  burst  forth  and  loudest  lamentations." 

Guido  and  Titian,  Paul  Veronese  and  Perugino, 
are  here  in  the  best  of  their  several  works ;  at  least 
such  is  the  opinion  of  better  judges. 

But  Eome  is  greater  in  statuary  than  painting,  and 
we  are  now  in  the  midst  of  the  grandest  collection 
that  the  world  knows.  The  numberless  sarcophagi, 
urns  and  vases,  tombstones  and  broken  marble,  ar- 
ranged in  the  first  gallery,  impress  us  with  solemn 
awe,  as  if  we  were  among  the  ancient  dead.  Here 
are  the  inscriptions  from  the  tombs  of  pagans  and 
Christians ;  and  we  marked  the  contrast,  as  in  other 
places  where  the  two  are  placed  side  by  side.  Hope 
in  sorrow  is  the  Christian's  record  over  the  tombs  of 
those  he  loves.  The  pagan  submits  in  mute  despair 
to  a  fate  he  can  not  evade. 

My  recollections  of  the  sculptures  in  these  halls  are 
somewhat  confused ;  but  a  few  of  them  are  impressed 
on  the  mind  with  a  vividness  that  no  time  can  ob- 


136        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Laocoon.  Apollo. 

scure.  Who  that  has  once  seen  can  ever  forget — even 
if  he  desires  to  forget — the  Laocoon  f  Whether  or 
not  it  relates  the  story  of  the  Trojan  priest  and  his 
two  sons,  destroyed  by  the  serpents  from  Tenedos 
for  the  supposed  impiety  of  the  father,  who  hurled  the 
spear  into  the  side  of  the  wooden  horse,  it  is  a  terri- 
ble monument  of  human  suffering  and  human  art. 
The  criticisms  on  the  boys,  as  little  old  men,  are 
puerile  and  unworthy  in  the  majestic  grandeur  of  the 
group.  Anguish  unutterable  and  despair  stand  out 
in  every  strained  muscle,  in  the  distorted,  writhing 
features  of  every  face ;  but  more  in  that  of  the  aged 
father,  who  feels  his  utter  powerlessness  in  the  coils 
of  the  monsters  crushing  his  bones  and  his  noble  sons. 
I  did  not  know  that  marble  could  so  move  me.  But 
when  I  saw  these  snakes,  so  cold,  slimy,  scaly,  and 
cruel,  winding  their  horrid  folds  about  the  limbs  of 
their  wretched  victims,  I  can  not  better  describe  my 
own  sensations  than  by  saying  that  I  crawled  all 
over. 

A  little  farther  on  and  we  stood  before  the  Apollo 
Belvidere.  By  what  hands  wrought,  or  even  in  what 
age  of  Grecian  art  it  was  produced,  we  may  not  with 
certainty  affirm ;  but  it  lives,  the  wonder  and  admira- 
tion of  all  ages  and  climes.  The  instant  my  eyes  fell 
on  it  I  was  transfixed  with  delight.  The  pose  is  elo- 
quent of  dignity  and  power.  The  limbs  are  the  per- 
fection of  manly  beauty.  Such  ease,  such  strength, 
such  conscious  energy ;  every  muscle  is  instinct  with 
life.  Had  it  stepped  from  its  pedestal  and  marched 
along  the  hall,  I  should  have  scarcely  been  more  ex- 


WONDEKS     OF     ROME.  137 

Michael.  Mummies. 

cited.     And  the  head — it  is  the  grandest  conception 
a  pagan  could  have  of  the  head  of  a  god ! 

In  the  church  of  the  Capuchins  is  a  famous  picture 
of  Guido — the  Archangel  Michael  conquering  a  mon- 
ster. It  cost  me  some  trouble  to  find  a  monk  who 
would  come  and  withdraw  the  curtain,  for  it  was  the 
hour  for  vespers,  and  they  were  all  engaged ;  but  when 
I  discovered  one  apparently  at  leisure,  he  led  me  back 
into  the  church,  and  very  kindly  exposed  the  glorious 
painting,  the  master-piece  of  Guido.  The  young  an- 
gel, with  flowing  hair  and  a  countenance  of  heavenly 
beauty,  with  ardent  coinage  and  strength,  is  coming- 
down  on  the  enemy,  and  treading  him  beneath  his 
feet.  Our  guide  then  conducted  us  to  the  cemetery 
of  the  Capuchins  beneath  their  convent — an  extraor- 
dinary museum  in  the  court  of  death.  One  monk  had 
just  completed  the  pleasant  duty  of  showing  three 
ladies  through  the  tombs,  and  they  were  kissing  his 
hand  and  receiving  his  blessing  as  we  came  near.  We 
entered  the  subterranean  apartments,  consisting  of  a 
series  of  cells,  which  are  laid  off  in  little  squares,  and 
covered  with  earth  and  moss,  and  here  and  there  a 
few  flowers.  In  each  of  these  cells  was  the  mummy 
of  a  monk,  with  cowl  and  cassock  on,  the  cord  con- 
fining his  gown,  the  cross  still  held  in  his  skeleton 
hand,  and  an  hour-glass  and  book  standing  by.  A 
card  in  the  other  hand  tells  us  the  name  of  the  monk 
and  the  time  of  his  decease.  The  walls  of  this  gloomy 
sepulchre  are  adorned  with  curious  figures,  wrought 
with  the  bones  of  the  monks,  who  are  thus  made  to 
contribute  to  the  embellishment  of  the  place  after  they 


138  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Holy  Stairs. 


are  picked  to  pieces.  Long  ago  the  whole  number  of 
cells  was  filled  with  the  mummies,  and  now,  when  a 
Capuchin  dies,  he  can  find  a  bed  below  only  by  crowd- 
ing out  the  one  who  has  been  here  the  longest.  His 
bones  are  then  worked  up ;  his  skull  becomes  a  lamp, 
the  vertebras  a  chain  to  hang  it  on,  and  the  shoulder- 
blade  becomes  a  scythe  in  the  lank  fingers  of  a  skele- 
ton, while  the  columns  and  arches  are  all  made  of 
thighs  and  arms,  and  even  the  smaller  bones  are  set 
in  curious  mosaics,  making  the  queerest  of  all  cari- 
catures in  the  chamber  of  the  dead. 

Every  one  has  read  of  the  Holy  Stairs,  the  Scala 
/Sa?ita,  in  the  noble  portico  near  to  the  Basilica  of  St. 
John  Lateran.  These  twenty-eight  marble  steps  are 
said  to  have  been  in  Pilate's  house  in  Jerusalem,  and 
the  same  which  the  Saviour  trod  when  he  went  to  the 
judgment-seat  of  the  Governor.  Now  no  one  is  per- 
mitted to  ascend  them  but  on  her  knees.  I  say  her 
knees,  for  of  the  scores  who  were  slowly  climbing 
when  I  was  there,  not  a  man  was  to  be  seen.  But 
at  the  head  of  the  stairs  is  a  chapel,  on  which  is  writ- 
ten in  Latin,  "  In  all  the  world  there  is  no  place  more 
holy;"  and  into  this  no  woman  is  allowed  to  enter.  1 
looked  through  the  windows  and  saw  the  divinity  of 
the  sanctuary,  a  painting  of  the  Saviour  at  the  age 
of  twelve,  said  to  be  a  perfect  likeness,  and  painted 
by  the  evangelist  Luke!  Of  all  the  penitents  who 
were  toiling  up  the  stairs,  a  few  only  appeared  to  be 
impressed  with  solemnity  becoming  the  work  in  which 
they  were  engaged.  One  lady,  elegantly  dressed,  a 
plump  and  pretty  woman,  laughed  all  the  way  up, 


W  ONDERS     OF     ROME. 


139 


Children. 


Hard  work. 


THE   HOLY  STAIRS. 


and  chatted  with  the  children,  who  found  it  excess- 
ively tedious  to  "be  toiling  in  this  way,  when  they 
would  have  preferred  to  mount  two  or  three  steps  at 
a  time.     Another  was  very  much  out  of  breath,  and 


140        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Luther.  Beautiful  church. 

used  her  handkerchief  freely  in  wiping  the  perspira- 
tion from  her  brow  while  she  rested  a  few  moments, 
and  then  climbed  on.  It  is  awkward  work  going  up 
stairs  on  one's  knees.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  go- 
ing down  stairs  in  this  way  is  a  certain  cure  of  the 
fever  and  ague.  It  is  just  as  good  for  that  malady 
as  this  uphill  work  is  for  the  more  desperate  malady 
of  sin.  But  here,  even  here,  on  his  knees,  on  these 
very  stairs,  the  great  reformer,  Luther,  was  startled 
by  a  voice  from  heaven — "The  just  shall  live  by 
faith" — and  the  Reformation  was  conceived. 

One  church,  on  the  site  of  a  temple  to  Juno,  has 
become  a  life  memory  with  me,  and  I  must  say  a 
word  of  it.  St.  Maria  Maggiore  is  the  basilica  from 
the  balcony  of  which  the  pope  blesses  the  populace 
on  the  Festival  of  the  Assumption.  Within,  the  im- 
posing nave,  280  feet  long,  is  separated  from  the  side 
aisles  by  a  row  of  thirty-six  Ionic  white  marble  col- 
umns, and  the  walls  are  adorned  with  mosaics  of 
extraordinary  beauty,  representing  scripture  scenes. 
Among  the  remarkable  relics  shown  to  the  faithful  and 
the  curious,  is  the  cradle  in  which  the  Saviour  was 
laid  in  his  infancy ;  but  I  could  not  summon  creduli- 
ty enough  to  be  greatly  affected  by  its  contemplation. 
There  are  many  who  go  upon  the  principle,  the  great- 
er the  pretence,  the  greater  the  merit  of  faith ;  and 
they  receive  with  implicit  confidence  every  thing  that 
Popery  tells  them  of  the  wonderful  and  sacred.  But 
art  in  Rome  has  as  much  of  this  spirit  of  imposition 
as  religion.  I  felt  this  most  deeply,  when,  after  a 
long  walk  to  sec  a   statue,  we  found  at  last  in  the 


WONDERS     OF     ROME.  143 

Doubtful  statue.  Pride  of  Eome. 

Spada  palace  the  statue,  so  called,  of  Ponipey,  hold- 
ing a  globe  in  his  extended  hand.  He  seems  on  the 
point  of  rolling  it.  Some  have  pronounced  it  Augus- 
tus, and  others  Alexander  the  Great,  and  others  have 
supposed  it  to  be  an  emperor  whose  features  have 
not  been  preserved  on  coins  to  be  compared  with  this  ; 
but  the  opinion  is  now  a  common  one,  that  this  is  the 
statue  which  "  all  the  while  ran  blood"  when  "  great 
Ca3sar  fell"  and  died  at  its  base.  Some  have  even 
found  the  spots  of  blood  on  it,  which  may  have  been 
Caesar's  or  the  marble's.  I  could  discover  no  special 
fitness  to  Pompey  in  the  statue,  while  the  globe  in 
his  hand  looks  far  more  like  an  emblem  of  Alexander, 
or  some  other  master  of  the  world. 

Byron  calls  the  Pantheon  the  "pride  of  Rome." 
It  is  also  claimed  to  be  the  most  elegant  edifice  of 
ancient  Rome,  and  the  best  preserved  of  its  antique 
monuments.  It  is  certainly  the  finest  monument  of 
modern  Rome.  The  portico,  with  its  columns  of 
Egyptian  marble,  unsurpassed  by  any  architecture, 
is  more  than  one  hundred  feet  long,  with  Corinthian 
columns  of  granite  standing  on  Grecian  marble.  The 
bronze  doors  are  probably  the  same  that  Agrippa 
caused  to  be  put  up  when  this  temple  was  erected 
twenty-five  years  before  Christ.  "We  pass  them,  and 
stand  within  the  rotunda,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  in  diameter,  and  of  the  same  height,  and  sur- 
mounted by  a  mighty  dome,  from  the  centre  of  which 
the  light  is  admitted  by  an  aperture  always  open  to 
the  sky.  The  storms  of  heaven  beat  in  upon  its  floor 
of  granite  and  porphyry,  the  only  one  of  the  kind  that 


144  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Charles  V.  Tilings  to  be  done,  not  said. 


is  left,  and  the  swollen  Tiber  has  sometimes  over- 
flowed it,  and  it  has  been  exposed  to  fire  a  hundred 
times,  "but  it  stands  a  relic  of  paganism,  and  now, 
without  alteration,  is  readily  adapted  to  modern 
Romish  worship.  All  the  ancient  ornaments  of  sil- 
ver and  gold  have  been  removed  from  the  roof,  and  it 
strikes  the  visitor  when  he  enters  as  a  sacked  and 
wasted  temple.  This  idea  is  still  more  impressively 
presented  when,  from  the  opening  of  the  rotunda,  one 
looks  down  upon  the  uneven  pavement  and  the  bare 
walls.  When  Charles  V.  visited  Rome  in  1536,  he 
was  led,  at  his  request,  to  the  roof  of  the  Pantheon, 
by  a  young  Roman,  who  told  his  father  afterward, 
that  when  the  emperor  looked  into  the  temple 
through  the  open  dome,  he  was  almost  tempted  to 
push  him  over,  in  revenge  for  his  having  sacked  the 
city  in  1527.  The  father  replied,  "My  son,  such 
things  as  that  should  be  done,  not  talked  about." 

The  votary  of  art  is  more  impressed  with  this  temple 
as  the  tomb  of  Raphael.  Here  lie  his  bones  in  the 
third  chapel  on  the  left  hand  as  we  enter.  The  phre- 
nologists had  long  admired  his  skull  in  the  Academy 
of  St.  Luke ;  but  in  1833  the  tomb  was  opened  by 
permission,  and  the  bones  of  the  great  painter  were 
found  undisturbed  and  entire  in  his  coffin.  Other 
artists  have  found  a  burial-place  in  this  noble  edifice, 
which  thus  becomes  invested  with  all  the  interest  that 
antiquity,  religion,  and  genius  can  impart. 

I  have  not  said  any  thing  of  the  statuary  of  the 
capital.  It  would  fill  a  volume  to  do  it  justice.  The 
Dying  Gladiator  is  not   surpassed  in  power  by  the 


WONDERS     OF     ROME.  145 

Dying  Gladiator.  No  end  to  Rome. 

Apollo  or  the  Laocoon.  Some  artists  and  judges  of 
art  place  it  before  them  and  all  others.  I  could  not 
study  it.  There  is  no  work  of  art  in  the  world  that 
sets  the  dreadfulness  of  death  so  painfully  before  the 
mind.  No  exaggeration,  no  straining  after  effect ;  not 
even  the  accessory  of  beauty,  or  nobility,  or  glory, 
enhances  the  interest  of  the  beholder.  A  coarse,  un- 
intellectual,  and  perhaps  unfeeling  man, 

"  He  leans  upon  his  hand ;  his  manly  brow 
Consents  to  death,  but  conquers  agony ; 
And  his  droop'd  head  sinks  gradually  low, 
And  through  his  side  the  last  drops,  ebbing  slow 
From  the  red  gash,  fall  heavy,  one  by  one, 
Like  the  first  of  a  thunder-shower ;  and  now 
The  arena  swims  around  him :  he  is  gone, 

Ere  ceased  the  inhuman  shout  which  hailed  the  wretch  who  won. 
He  heard  it,  but  he  heeded  not;  his  eyes 
"Were  with  his  heart,  and  that  was  far  away. 
He  reck'd  not  of  the  life  he  lost,  nor  prize ; 
But  where  his  rude  hut  by  the  Danube  lay : 
T/tere  were  his  young  barbarians  all  at  play ; 
There  was  their  Dacian  mother ;  he,  their  sire, 
Butcher'd  to  make  a  Roman  holiday." 

But  there  is  no  end  to  Rome — it  is  an  eternal  city 
in  this — that  we  should  never  exhaust  its  wonders. 
Not  one  of  a  thousand  of  the  antiquities,  the  temples, 
baths,  and  tombs  above  and  beneath  the  ground, 
have  we  made  even  a  mention  of.  Nor  have  we  spo- 
ken, as  we  should  speak,  of  the  glorious  works  of  mod- 
ern art  in  Rome,  rising  from  the  master  hands  of 
American  genius  and  patient,  hopeful  toil,  such  as 
we  saw  in  the  studio  of  Crawford,  whom  Virginia  is 
employing  now  upon  a  noble  monument  in  memory 
Vol.  II.— G 


146  EUROPE    AND    THE    EAST. 


American  artists. 


of  her  noblest  sons,  to  stand  on  the  Capitol  Hill  in 
Richmond.  Page,  Freeman,  Rogers,  Mosher,  Nich- 
ols, and  others  are  here,  treading  steadily  upward  the 
hillside  to  fortune  and  fame.  With  them  and  their 
families  some  of  my  pleasantest  hours  in  Rome  were 
spent;  and  so  rapidly  did  their  kindness  and  their 
genius  win  me,  that  I  found  it  harder  to  part  from 
them  than  from  the  city  I  came  to  see. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

ITALY NAPLES. 

Leaving  Rome — The  Campagna — Ruins — Three  Taverns — Pontine 
Marshes — Terracina — Old  Town — Tomb  of  Cicero — St.  Agatha 
— Beggars — Capua — Arrival  at  Naples — View  of  Vesuvius — Mu- 
seum— Campo  Santo — A  Dead  Show — The  Bay — Paradise  and 
the  Pit — Lake  Avernus — Sibyl's  Cave — Cicero's  Villa — Nero's 
Baths — Baias — Grotto  del  Cane — Sulphur  Baths. 

We  are  taking  our  last  look  of  the  Eternal  City. 
As  we  pass  out  by  the  clmrcli  of  St.  John  Lateran 
and  the  Scala  Santa,  though  early  in  the  morning, 
the  people  have  already  arrived  in  their  carriages,  and 
many  of  the  devout  worshippers  are  ascending  the 
holy  stairs  on  their  knees. 

The  classical  scholar  is  filled  with  the  liveliest  emo- 
tions as  he  leaves  the  city  and  enters  upon  the  great 
Campagna.  The  aqueducts,  perhaps  the  most  strik- 
ing of  all  the  ruins  about  Rome,  here  stretch  with 
their  immense  arches  over  the  waste.  Ancient  tombs, 
broken  columns,  remains  of  temples  and  villas,  are  on 
every  hand.  Here  is  the  spot  where  Coriolanus  was 
met  by  his  mother,  and  entreated  to  spare  the  city  of 
his  "birth.  Then  we  pass  the  tomb  of  Pompey,  the 
tomb  of  the  Horatii  and  the  Curiatii,  and  numerous 
villas  of  the  old  Romans.  A  few  hours  brine:  us  in 
sio-ht  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  off  at  our  right.  Herds 
of  buffaloes — the  wild  cattle  of  Italy — are  feeding  in 


148  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Three  Taverns.  Pontine  Marshes. 


the  meadows,  reminding  us  of  the  prairies  in  the  West 
of  our  own  land. 

In  the  course  of  the  day  we  came  to  the  Three 
Taverns,  where  Paul  met  his  brethren  on  his  journey 
to  Rome.  I  called  to  mind  a  discussion  which  I  held 
some  years  before  in  my  own  country  with  a  tavern- 
keeper.  He  insisted  that  St.  Paul,  when  on  his  way 
to  the  city,  coming  in  sight  of  the  Three  Taverns, 
"thanked  God  and  took  courage;"  and  then  demand- 
ed of  me  whether  "  if  Paul  thanked  God  when  he  saw 
three  taverns,  he  could  not  have  the  privilege  of  keep- 
ing one  /" 

At  Torre  de  Tre  Ponti  begin  the  Pontine  Marshes, 
which  are  thirty-six  miles  long,  and  from  six  to  twelve 
miles  wide.  During  successive  centuries  the  most  vig- 
orous efforts  have  been  made  to  drain  these  marshes, 
but  in  vain.  Appius  Claudius,  Julius  Ca3sar,  Augus- 
tus, Trajan,  and  a  long  line  of  Popes  have  expended 
vast  sums  for  this  purpose,  but  without  success.  The 
Appian  Way  leads  directly  through  them,  and  the 
rising  malaria  renders  it  unsafe  for  travellers  to  pass, 
in  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  and  at  any  season  in 
the  night  time.  The  driver  and  postillions  who  are 
to  ride  on  the  outside  of  the  carriage,  on  coming  near 
light  their  cigars  and  smoke  vigorously,  thinking  to 
render  themselves  less  liable  to  the  infection.  The 
paved  high-road  is  shaded  over  the  top  with  great 
trees.  There  is  no  marsh  in  appearance,  but  the 
whole  surface  of  the  country  resembles  that  of  Hol- 
land. Canals  are  on  either  side  of  the  road,  and 
embankments  across  the  plains. 


ITALY NAPLES.  149 

The  priests.  AVines. 

We  spent  tlie  night  at  Terracina,  where  Pope  Pius 
VI.  had  a  palace,  and  where  there  is  now  shown  a 
rock  remarkable  for  its  human-shaped  profile.  Of 
this  town  upon  the  edge  of  the  sea,  Horace  speaks 
as  "furnishing  moderate  hospitality,"  and  its  original 
character  is  maintained  to  the  present  time. 

I  had  had  for  my  travelling  companions  in  the 
coujpe  of  the  diligence  two  Romish  priests,,  and 
enjoyed  with  them  the  perusal  of  the  well-known 
journey  of  Horace,  in  which  he  introduces  the  places 
through  which  we  had  been  passing,  and  discourses 
of  the  scenery  with  which  we  had  been  all  day 
delighted.  We  got  off  early  in  the  morning  and 
came  on  six  miles  to  a  high  rock,  called  Torre  del 
Epita/phioi  the  frontier  of  the  Papal  and  Neapolitan 
States.  Five  miles  brought  us  to  Fronde,  the  gates 
of  which  were  not  yet  open.  When  we  entered  we 
found  scores  of  people,  men  and  women,  standing 
around  thus  early  in  the  morning,  having  nothing  to 
do  but  to  waylay  travellers,  and  get  what  they  could 
of  them.  This  town,  older  than  R,ome,  has  been 
famous  for  its  wines  from  time  immemorial ;  they  are 
mentioned  by  Pliny,  Strabo,  and  Martial.  Here 
Sejanus  saved  the  life  of  Tiberius  in  a  grotto.  The 
Dominican  Convent  was  once  occupied  by  Thomas 
Aquinas.  In  1534,  the  Turks  (under  Barbarossa) 
laid  waste  the  town,  and  attempted  to  carry  off  Julia, 
the  Countess  of  Fronde :  she  was  celebrated  for  her 
beauty,  and  they  designed  her  as  a  present  to  the 
Sultan.  Alarmed,  she  leapt  out  of  her  window,  fled 
in  the  dead  of  night  to  the  mountains,  and  escaped. 


150  EUIiOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Tomb  of  Cicero.  Pope's  flight. 

We  went  along  by  the  ruins  of  pagan  temples,  and 
through  a  dreary  pass  among  these  mountains  ar- 
rived at  Itri.  On  the  right  of  the  road  is  an  ancient 
tower  called  the  Tomb  of  Cicero.  It  is  said  to  mark 
the  spot  on  which  the  great  Roman  orator  was  killed. 
Near  by,  a  path  leads  down  to  the  sea,  which  he  was 
following  to  embark  in  his  boat,  when  he  was  over- 
taken, by  his  enemies  and  assassinated.  Nigh  the 
water's  edge  is  the  fountain  where  Ulysses  met  the 
daughter  of  the  King  of  the  Lsestrygonians. 

A  beautiful  view  of  the  sea  and  hills  opens  before 
the  eye.  Mola  di  Gaeta  stands  on  a  point,  far  reach- 
ing to  the  sea,  at  the  mouth  of  a  bay.  It  was  cele- 
brated by  the  ancients  for  the  beauty  of  its  situation, 
and  the  moderns  will  remember  it  as  the  place  to 
which  the  Pope  fled  when  he  ran  away  in  disguise 
from  his  beloved  people  in  1848.  They  laugh  at  his 
dastard  flight  to  this  day.  The  next  time  he  runs  he 
will  not  get  back.  Ripe  and  luscious  oranges  hung 
over  the  walls  of  the  gardens  by  which  our  road  lay 
as  we  entered  the  narrow  and  dirty  streets  of  Mola. 
Through  the  grates  of  the  prison  men  and  women, 
confined  within,  were  looking  at  the  passing  travel- 
lers. At  the  "Post-house"  ten  gentlemen  sat  down 
at  a  small  table,  where  they  attempted  to  make  a 
breakfast  on  rancid  butter  and  bread,  with  one  knife 
for  all  of  the  party  to  use  in  common !  The  conductor 
informed  us  that  there  was  a  custom-house  in  this 
place,  and  that  a  fee  from  each  of  us  would  pass  our 
luggage  through  without  examination.  Accordingly 
a  contribution  was  taken  up,  each  gentleman  giving 


ITALY  —  NAPLES.  151 

Ancient  remains.  Beggars. 

what  lie  pleased,  and  the  result  was  as  good  as  the 
promise. 

Off  on  our  left  is  a  city  on  a  hill,  elevated  at 
once  for  health  and  defence,  and  almost  inaccessible. 
Men  are  dressing  their  vines  ;  wives  and  children  are 
helping  them  ;  and  now  and  then  is  seen  a  babe  lying 
in  a  basket,  tightly  wrapped,  and  deposited  in  the 
grass. 

Frequently  we  pass  the  square  towers  built  in  the 
middle  ages,  and  occasionally  the  round  tower  of 
Homan  and  ancient  architecture.  Near  Scavali  we 
passed  the  ruins  of  a  Roman  amphitheatre,  while  all 
around  lay  scattered  evidences  that  here  a  great  city 
once  stood.  At  Liris  we  crossed  a  river  by  means  of 
a  suspension-bridge.  Here  we  entered  upon  a  vast 
plain  with  a  road  passing  through  it,  and  stretching 
from  the  mountains  on  our  left  away  to  the  sea.  In 
the  distance  Vesuvius  breaks  upon  our  sight.  At  St. 
Agatha  we  were  beset  by  a  crowd  of  beggars,  afflicted 
with  all  manner  of  maladies ;  a  girl  put  up  her  hand 
to  her  father's  blind  eyes  ;  another  exposed  one  of  her 
breasts  eaten  by  scrofula ;  another  put  her  fingers  to 
her  shriveled  lips,  and  said,  "I  am  dying  of  hunger." 
We  reached  Capua  at  dark — just  in  time  to  miss  the 
train  of  cars  which  would  have  taken  us  in  an  hour 
to  Naples.  The  diligence,  however,  was  to  push  on ; 
and,  wearied  with  two  long  days  of  laborious  riding, 
we  submitted  to  our  fate.  The  roads  soon  became 
horrible.  One  wheel-horse — a  vicious  beast — after 
various  attempts  at  resistance,  threw  himself  down, 
refusing  to  make  any  further  efforts  to  help  us  along. 


152  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

In  Naples.  Bargain  at  marriage. 

Our  numerous  endeavors  at  mending  matters  only 
made  them  worse;  and  hour  after  hour  of  tedious 
travelling  wore  away  in  quarrels  between  the  coach- 
men and  postillions,  so  that  not  until  late  in  the  even- 
ing did  we  overcome  the  ten  miles,  and  in  darkness 
enter  the  city  of  Naples. 

Perhaps  it  was  well  for  us  that  we  arrived  at  night, 
as  it  enabled  us  to  anticipate,  with  higher  hopes,  the 
beauty  that  opened  on  our  eyes  with  the  light  of 
the  morning.  We  found  delightful  quarters  at  the 
Hotel  des  Etrangcrs,  on  the  shores  of  the  bay,  and 
conveniently  near  all  the  places  of  interest  in  the  city 
— a  house  to  be  sought  by  all  new-comers  to  Naples. 

The  windows  of  my  room  look  out  upon  the  bay 
and  the  isle  of  Ischia.  I  am  so  high,  and  so  near  the 
shore,  that  I  see  no  street  below  me ;  and  the  water 
seems  breaking  softly  upon  the  door-step.  We  arc 
near  the  Yilla  Reale — a  public  promenade  adorned  with 
vases,  fountains,  groves  of  orange-trees,  and  beautiful 
statuary.  The  garden  is  open  to  the  public  only  one 
day  in  the  year ;  but  it  is  always  more  or  less  fre- 
quented by  travellers.  Of  so  much  importance  was 
a  visit  to  this  park  once  regarded  by  the  common 
people,  that  the  young  women  were  in  the  habit  of 
stipulating,  in  their  marriage  contracts,  that  their 
husbands  should  take  them  there  at  least  once  a  year. 

Off  at  my  left,  the  clouds  are  hanging  over  Vesu- 
vius— gloomy  and  sublime.  No  fire  is  now  to  be 
seen  on  the  summit  of  the  volcano ;  but  a  tall  pillar 
of  smoke  rises  from  its  crest,  telling  of  the  fierce 
flames  pent  up  in  its  bosom.     A  warm  south  wind  is 


ITALY  —  NAPLES.  153 

Museum.  Campo  Santo. 

blowing,  so  soft  and  voluptuous  that  I  love  to  open 
my  bosom  and  let  it  creep  in  and  around  me.  Alas ! 
mine  host  of  the  hotel  tells  me  the  wind  is  from  a 
poisonous  quarter,  and  he  hopes  it  will  soon  be  over. 

Impatient  to  see  the  thousand  objects  of  interest  in 
and  around  this  city,  we  made  our  way  at  once  to  the 
Museum,  celebrated  chiefly  for  its  collection  of  an- 
tiquities from  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii.  Suspend- 
ed from  the  walls  of  the  disentombed  houses  are  fres- 
coes, indistinct,  but  still  interesting  as  specimens  of 
ancient  art.  Here  are  cakes  of  ashes  from  the  build- 
ings of  Pompeii,  bearing  impressions  which  had  been 
made  upon  them  by  the  limbs  of  those  who  perished 
in  the  burial  of  the  city.  One  cake  is  marked  by  the 
breast  of  a  woman ;  others,  with  arms  and  hands, 
resembling  casts  that  had  been  taken  from  living 
models.  A  vast  collection  of  vases,  household  utensils, 
and  objects  of  art  have  been  transferred  from  the 
ruins  and  deposited  here.  The  halls  devoted  to  an- 
cient sculpture  contain  some  of  the  finest  statuary  in 
the  world ;  and  a  secret  chamber,  into  which  none  are 
admitted  without  special  permission  from  the  govern- 
ment, is  filled  with  a  most  extraordinary  collection  of 
ancient  and  indecent  statuary,  which  is  very  properly 
concealed  from  public  view. 

We  spent  the  day  in  the  midst  of  these  curiosities, 
and  toward  night  ascended  the  hill  to  the  Campo 
Santo,  that  we  might  witness  the  mode  of  disposing  of 
the  dead,  one  of  the  strange  sights  in  Naples.  This 
cemetery,  situated  upon  the  highest  part  of  the  city, 
is   a  large   quadrangle,   surrounded   on  all   sides  by 

G* 


154  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Pits  for  the  dead.  Pitching  them  in. 

buildings.  The  paved  court  is  divided  into  three 
hundred  and  sixty-six  pits,  having  one  for  each  day 
in  the  year.  Every  night  the  dead  of  the  day  in  the 
hospitals  and  the  houses  of  those  who  from  want  of 
means  have  been  unable  to  procure  a  more  desirable 
burial-place  for  themselves,  are  brought  here.  As  we 
rode  up,  the  attendants  were  driving  out  a  crowd, 
which  had  gathered  to  witness  the  melancholy  spec- 
tacle. Our  appearance  as  strangers  secured  us  the 
privilege  of  admission,  and  we  were  invited  to  stand 
near  the  edge  of  the  pit.  A  priest  performed  a  funeral 
service  over  the  bodies,  lying  around  in  rude  boxes. 
When  this  was  over,  the  servants  opened  the  boxes, 
stripped  the  bodies  of  their  clothing,  seized  them — 
one  by  the  hands  and  another  by  the  feet — and 
dropped  them  into  the  hole.  One  man  took  a  babe 
in  each  hand,  and  pitched  them  in  as  carelessly  as  he 
would  handle  a  sheep.  Some  fifteen  or  twenty  were 
thus  disposed  of.  Lime  was  then  thrown  in  upon 
them  ;  the  stone  cover  was  lowered,  and  fitted  tightly 
over  the  mouth,  and  the  pit  was  closed  to  remain 
unopened  for  a  year.  Others  who  have  visited  the 
Campo  Santo,  have  told  us  of  the  sights  that  they 
have  seen  in  the  pits  when  the  stones  are  raised ; 
but,  so  far  as  we  were  able  to  judge,  the  lime  de- 
stroys them  utterly,  so  that  when  the  pits  are  re- 
opened nothing  is  to  be  seen  within.  Indeed,  it  is 
said  that  whenever  they  have  been  examined  the  day 
after  burial,  the  bodies  have  been  found  overrun  with 
rats  and  cockroaches,  which  destroy  the  flesh  of  the 
dead  more  rapidly  than  lime. 


ITALY NAPLES.  155 

Raising  thcra  up.  The  bay. 

Such,  are  the  burials  of  the  poor  ;  the  rich  find  their 
resting-places  under  the  churches,  where  the  graves 
are  divided  by  low,  narrow  Avails.  Here  also  the 
ground  is  impregnated  with  lime,  in  order  that  the 
bodies  may  be  consumed  more  rapidly  than  by  mere 
natural  decay;  for  at  the  end  of  six  months  every 
grave  is  liable  to  be  re-opened,  when  the  bones  are  re- 
moved to  make  room  for  other  bodies.  There  is, 
however,  one  church  where  the  rich  are  able  to  secure 
for  themselves  a  lasting  resting-place ;  the  church  of 
the  Holy  Apostles.  Its  vaults  are  filled  with  a  pecu- 
liar earth,  which  prevents,  instead  of  promoting,  de- 
composition. There  is  an  association  which  secures 
to  its  members  the  privilege  of  burial  here,  and  also 
of  being  taken  up,  at  some  future  time,  to  be  shown 
to  surviving  friends  in  the  favorite  dresses  which  they 
were  accustomed  to  wear  during  life.  On  these  exhi- 
bition days  the  chapels  are  illuminated  and  decked 
with  flowers.  The  bodies  of  the  dead,  dressed  in 
their  best  clothes,  with  hair  curled,  and  flowers  in 
their  hands,  are  ranged  in  rows  along  the  chapel,  a 
card  over  each  body,  on  which  is  recorded  its  name. 
The  friends  kneel  and  pray  before  the  body  for  the 
repose  of  the  soul. 

On  coming  out  from  the  Campo  Santo  we  stood 
upon  a  height  overlooking  the  city,  its  environs,  and 
the  world-famous  Bay  of  JVaples.  Much  as  we  had 
heard  and  read  of  this  magnificent  expanse  of  water, 
and  of  the  gorgeous  city  upon  its  shore,  its  beauty  ex- 
ceeded all  the  expectations  we  had  ever  formed.  The 
bay  is  a  vast  semicircle,  ten  or  fifteen  miles  across, 


156  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

A  contrast.  Paradise  and  the  pit, 

and  along  its  edge  the  city  rises,  exposing  to  full  view 
its  ten  thousand  theatres,  palaces,  churches,  towers, 
walls,  and  pinnacles,  all  having  a  wildness  of  appear- 
ance and  yet  a  harmony  of  relation  that  fill  the  mind 
with  sensations  of  exquisite  pleasure.  The  more  dis- 
tant mountains,  in  smoke,  or  exposing  their  peaks, 
which  have  once  been  tinged  with  fiery  floods,  awaken 
emotions  of  the  sublime,  that  mingle  with  those  of  the 
beautiful  which  the  softer  features  of  the  scene  have 
inspired.  In  front  of  us  is  the  bay,  with  its  shipping 
and  its  islands  lying  like  gems  upon  the  bosom  of  this 
lovely  water.  The  contrast  of  this  view  with  the  scene 
which  we  had  just  witnessed  perhaps  added  not  a  lit- 
tle to  the  enjoyment  of  the  prospect  that  was  now  out- 
spread before  us.  I  was  sick  when  I  came  out  of  the 
cemetery ;  I  felt  as  in  the  midst  of  a  charnel-house. 
I  was  in  Naples,  the  most  dissolute  and  corrupt  of 
all  the  cities  of  Italy,  and  consequently  of  Europe. 
No  city  could  exhibit  a  closer  alliance  between  para- 
dise and  the  pit.  Behind  me,  and  before  me,  were 
emblems  of  both  ;  Naples  the  beautiful  is  also  Naples 
corrupted,  festering,  rotting,  like  the  dead  beneath 
the  ground  on  which  it  stands.  Naples  the  beautiful 
sits,  like  a  queen,  on  the  shores  of  this  unrivaled  bay, 
rejoicing  in  her  pride  and  loveliness,  forgetful  of  the 
judgments  that  have  burst  upon  the  cities  standing 
once  around  her,  that  lived  as  Naples  lived,  and  per- 
ished as  Naples  one  day  may  perish. 

We  spent  the  next  day  riding  along  the  shore  and 
among  the  ruins  of  ancient  Baia3.  Before  we  left  the 
city  we  stopped  at  the  tomb  of  Virgil,  which  is  beau- 


ITALY  —  NAPLES.  157 


Landing  of  Paul. 


tifully  situated  on  a  gentle  hill  overlooking  the  sea, 
and  marked  by  a  marble  monument,  recording,  as  I 
believe  there  is  but  little  reason  to  doubt,  that  the 
great  poet  was  actually  interred  upon  this  very  spot. 
Through  the  Grotto  di  Posilipo,  a  long  tunnel  of  won- 
derful excavation,  we  passed  out  upon  the  plain.  The 
island  of  Ischia  and  the  Cape  Messina  rise  to  view. 
We  came  on  to  Puzzeoli,  the  ancient  Puteoli,  where 
Paul  landed  on  his  journey  to  Home.  Soon  we  reach- 
ed the  shores  of  Lake  Avernus.  It  is  evidently  the 
crater  of  an  extinct  volcano,  now  filled  with  water, 
from  which  high  green  banks  recede  on  either  side. 
A  narrow  passage  affords  the  only  outlet  to  the  lake 
Lucrine.  The  ruins  of  the  temple  of  Apollo  stand 
upon  the  eastern  verge,  with  here  and  there  a  few  cot- 
tages scattered  around.  Avernus,  the  ancient  name, 
was  suggestive  of  the  gloom  with  which  nature  and 
poetry  have  invested  this  spot.  Forests,  doubtless, 
hung  over  the  lake  from  which  arose  pestilential  va- 
pors ;  and  this  fact  may  have  given  rise  to  the  idea 
that  no  living  thing  could  dwell  in  its  waters,  and 
that  every  bird  that  attempted  to  fly  over  would  fall 
dead  in  its  passage.  Virgil  made  this  lake  the  en- 
trance to  the  infernal  regions  ;  and  near  by  is  the  cave 
in  which  his  hero,  "the  pious  iEneas,"  sought  and 
found  the  sibyl,  under  whose  direction  he  made  his 
subterranean  descent. 

The  grotto  is  called  Sibyl's  Cave  to  this  day.  It 
proved  to  be  an  immense  tunnel,  constructed  doubt- 
less for  commercial  purposes,  and  extending  from  the 
lake  to  the  sea,  long  before  Virgil  seized  upon  it  to 


158  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Sibyl's  Cave.  Cicero's  \i:i <. 

form  part  of  his  story.  Within  this  tunnel  are  mys- 
terious chambers,  the  uses  of  which  are  difficult  to  he 
explained,  and  which  superstition  and  romance  have 
invested  with  peculiar  interest.  We  mounted  the 
hacks  of  dirty  Italians,  who  were  clamoring  for  the 
privilege  of  carrying  us,  and,  with  lighted  candles  in  our 
hands,  we  were  borne  through  water  four  feet  deep 
from  room  to  room,  till  we  had  satisfied  our  curi- 
osity, and  were  glad  to  emerge  into  the  light  of  day. 

We  drove  into  the  ruins  of  the  Cumsean  villa  of 
Cicero,  the  favorite  resort  of  the  orator,  when,  on  the 
borders  of  the  sea,  he  sat  and  meditated  his  philoso- 
phy, or  in  these  cool  retreats  refreshed  himself  for 
those  splendid  efforts  of  eloquence  which  give  a  charm 
to  the  ground  upon  which  his  dwelling  once  stood, 
and  have  since  bestowed  immortality  upon  his  name. 
Bums  of  ancient  tombs,  some  of  them  still  having  the 
urns  that  once  contained  the  ashes  of  the  dead,  now 
standing  within  them  in  niches,  are  to  be  found  all  over 
the  plain.  We  left  our  carriage  and  walked  up  the 
hill  to  a  very  interesting  ruin,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  one  of  the  prisons  of  Xero.  Underground  were 
vast  architectural  remains,  supposed  to  be  reservoirs 
for  water,  by  which  the  ancient  Roman  fleets  were 
supplied.  Leaving  these,  we  pass  through  a  dirty 
village,  and  around  a  hill  up  to  a  point  where  we  are 
able  to  view  the  gulf,  villas,'  ancient  cities,  Vesuvius, 
Putcoli,  Nisrida,  with  the  towers  of  St.  Martin  and 
St.  Elmo.  The  past  and  the  present  all  lie  before  us, 
a  scene  of  melancholy  grandeur  such  as  the  eye  sel- 
dom beholds.      Tn  the  clear  waters  of  the  bay  before 


ITALY  —  NAPLES.  159 

Subterranean.  Lunch  at  Baia?. 

us,  we  saw  the  remains  of  the  old  Roman  pavement 
in  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Underneath  this  hill  twelve 
steps  lead  us  down  into  the  midst  of  massive  arches 
and  caverns,  which  lead  off  to  the  right  and  to  the  left, 
toward  the  sea.  They  have  been  supposed  to  be  pris- 
ons but  they  suggested  to  us  the  idea  of  a  place  of  re- 
treat in  times  of  danger,  or  a  hiding-place  for  treasure. 
Probably  all  the  hills  that  are  around  us,  if  they  should 
be  explored,  would  reveal  similar  constructions. 

Coming  up  again,  we  found  an  old  terrace,  separated 
by  six  Doric  columns ;  here  we  spread  our  table,  in 
sight  of  the  ruins  of  the  temples  of  Venus,  of  Diana, 
and  of  Mercury  ;  the  baths  of  Nero — a  rare  panorama 
of  antiquity.  Vines  and  olives  were  growing  luxuri- 
antly around  us.  So  soft,  balmy,  heavenly,  was  the 
atmosphere,  and  so  enchanting  the  scenery  by  which 
we  were  surrounded,  that  we  seemed  to  be  in  the  very 
region  of  poetry  and  of  love.  Hither  the  old  Romans 
resorted  to  enjoy  the  luxuries  of  their  day  ;  and  prob- 
ably no  spot  in  Italy  has  ever  been  the  scene  of  more 
unbounded  license  than  this  upon  which  we  were  now 
sitting. 

A  rascally-looking  Italian  came  up,  with  baskets 
of  oysters  from  Lake  Fusaro,  vaunted  to  be  the  best 
in  the  world;  these,  with  the  cold  chicken  that  we 
had  brought,  made  our  lunch  amidst  the  ruins  of 
Baias.  After  dinner  we  visited  the  baths  of  Nero, 
far  down  underneath  a  hill,  from  which  clouds  of 
steam  from  the  boiling  waters  below  were  issuing.  A 
stout  fellow,  standing  ready  with  a  pail  and  a  couple 
of  eggs  in  his  hands,  entered  the  passage  in  the  rock 


160        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Boiling  eggs.  Cave  of  the  Dog. 

leading  to  the  fountain,  and  soon  emerged  with  his 
pail  filled  with  hot  water,  and  the  eggs  cooked  and 
ready  to  "be  eaten.  This  was  evidence  sufficient  for  us 
of  the  heat  of  the  region,  and  we  made  no  experiments 
of  our  own  to  test  it.  The  immense  masses  of  masonry 
and  the  numerous  tunnels  cut  through  these  hills  and 
extending  in  every  direction,  are  astonishing  proofs  of 
the  labor  and  expense  to  which  the  ancient  Romans 
must  have  gone  for  their  luxuries,  as  well  as  in  works 
for  security  and  defence.  The  obj  ects  of  these  construc- 
tions are  now  wholly  involved  in  obscurity,  and  per- 
haps conjecture  on  the  subject  is  altogether  idle. 

The  GrTotto  del  Cane  is  a  small  cave  in  the  side  of 
a  hill.  A  woman  kept  the  key  that  opened  the  en- 
trance, and  offered  to  show  us  its  mysteries.  She 
was  followed  by  a  dog,  on  which  is  daily  performed 
the  cruel  experiment  of  being  poisoned  with  the  va- 
por, and  then  suffered  to  come  to  life,  in  order  to  be 
on  hand  for  another  poisoning — a  dog's  life  indeed. 
"We  agreed  to  the  old  woman's  terms,  and  she  opened 
the  door.  A  volume  of  steam,  with  which  carbonic 
acid  gas  was  mingled,  was  rising  from  the  ground, 
the  floor  of  the  cave ;  but  the  upper  part  seemed  en- 
tirely free  from  it.  It  is  said  that  this  grotto  has 
been  used  as  a  place  for  the  execution  of  criminals, 
who  have  been  shut  up  within  and  there  left  to  die. 
Addison  made  a  series  of  experiments  here,  on  the 
occasion  of  his  memorable  visit.  He  found  that  gun- 
powder would  not  explode  in  the  vapor.  Light  is 
extinguished  by  it  the  moment  it  is  immersed.  We 
had  some  hesitation  about  permitting  the   execution 


ITALY  —  NAPLES.  161 

The  execution.  Sulphur  baths. 

of  the  dog,  but  feeling  that  perhaps  he  would  be  dis- 
appointed if  not  allowed  to  go  through  his  usual  per- 
formance, we  suffered  the  woman  to  pitch  him  in. 
This  operation  she  performed  by  taking  him  by  the 
legs  and  depositing  him  on  the  ground  in  the  midst 
of  the  curling  vapor.  The  dog  allowed  himself  to  be 
laid  upon  his  side  two  or  three  minutes,  and  began 
to  betray  symptoms  of  extreme  suffering.  He  was 
then  drawn  out  into  the  air,  where  he  lay  for  some 
time  in  fits,  but  gradually  regained  his  consciousness 
and  self-possession.  When  we  came  away  he  was 
ready  to  be  executed  again  for  the  entertainment  of  a 
party  of  travellers,  who  arrived  as  we  were  on  the 
point  of  taking  our  leave. 

We  found  near  by  some  sulphur  baths,  where  the 
ground  was  so  hot  from  internal  fires  that  we  lighted 
punk  upon  the  sides  of  a  grotto  which  we  had  enter- 
ed. One  chamber  was  furnished  with  a  bed,  in  which 
a  man  slept  every  night  amidst  the  heat,  that  was 
to  us  insupportable,  even  for  the  few  minutes  during 
which  we  attempted  to  stay  in  it.  A  swarm  of  beg- 
gars, disgusting  from  their  disease  and  filth,  infested 
us  as  we  came  in  toward  the  city.  The  peasants  sit- 
ting by  the  roadside,  engaged  in  the  Italian  custom  of 
hunting  heads,  completed  the  sensation  of  loathing 
with  which  we  regarded  the  degraded  people  of  this 
beautiful  country.  How  often  have  we  had  occasion 
to  speak  of  it  as  the  land 

"  Where  only  man  is  vile !" 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS. 

A  Day  in  Pompeii — Smart  Englishmen — Along  Shore — A  Soldier 
knocked  over — A  Chase  and  Capture — The  Gate  of  the  City — 
Street  of  Tombs— House  of  Diomede — Walks  about  Town — An- 
tiquities—House of  Sallust — Paintings  and  Statuary— Fountains 
and  Baths— Temples  and  Theatres — The  Burial  of  the  City — 
Vesuvius— The  Ascent— The  Crater— The  Crust— The  Descent— 
Herculaneum. 

JYbv.  18.  A  day  at  Pompeii!  A  day  with  the 
dead  past,  and  one  to  he  remembered  till  the  sea  and 
the  earth  give  up  their  dead ! 

At  "breakfast-table  we  found  a  couple  of  English 
gentlemen  who  had  actually  "  done"  Vesuvius,  Her- 
culaneum, and  Pompeii,  with  much  of  Naples  besides, 
in  a  single  day,  the  day  before,  and  were  now  leaving 
the  city.  They  confessed  it  was  "sharp  practice," 
but  said  it  could  be  done,  for  they  had  tried  the  ex- 
periment. The  English  are  as  rapid  sight-seers  as 
the  Yankees ;  and  I  have  never  heard  of  any  of  my 
countrymen  who  have  done  more  in  a  day  of  that 
business  than  these  gentlemen  achieved.  As  we 
had  no  intention  of  running  a  race  with  them,  we  de- 
termined to  take  the  matter  leisurely. 

The  drive  along  the  shore  through  the  street  of 
Naples  is  never  without  its  incidents.  The  people 
eating  their  maecaroni,  which  looks  like  little  snakes 


POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS.  163 

A  street  fight.  Lava. 

dropping  into  their  mouths  ;  the  women  searching  the 
heads  of  their  children  ;  the  donkeys  with  all  sorts  of 
burdens,  and  led  by  women  or  old  men ;  but  more  than 
all,  the  cart  with  its  load  of  ten  or  twenty  men  and 
women,  sitting  and  standing,  holding  upon  each  other 
and  the  cart  wherever  they  can  get  place  for  a  foot, 
driven  at  a  break-neck  pace,  the  entire  freight  in  a 
gale  of  laugh,  as  if  they  were  the  happiest  people  in 
the  world.  We  met  a  cart  in  which  a  solitary  laborer 
was  riding  with  his  load:  his  wheel  struck  the  car- 
riage in  which  a  man  in  military  dress  was  riding 
with  a  lady,  and  gave  it  such  a  blow  that  the  gentle- 
man was  thrown  out  upon  the  ground.  He  recovered 
himself,  drew  his  sword  and  rushed  after  the  luckless 
carter,  who  took  to  his  heels.  I  thought  we  were  to 
have  an  Italian  murder  on  the  spot.  But  the  enraged 
soldier  expended  his  wrath  in  beating  him  with  the 
flat  of  his  sword,  while  the  poor  fellow  put  up  his 
hands  and  implored  mercy,  warding  off  the  blows  till 
the  blood  streamed  from  the  wounds  on  his  arms. 
The  lady  came  down  from  the  carriage  and  wiped  off 
the  dust  from  her  soiled  companion  who  was  white 
with  rage,  and  appeared  to  have  suffered  from  his  fall 
and  his  chase.  Our  way  was  along  the  shore  to 
Portici  and  Pesina,  by  the  side  of  the  beautiful  villas, 
and  near  to  immense  heaps  of  lava  that  are  piled  up 
in  the  midst  of  houses.  We  have  always  supposed 
that  Pompeii  lies  below  the  surface,  and  we  must  de- 
scend into  gloomy  streets,  where  the  light  of  day  does 
not  penetrate.  Instead  of  this,  it  was  situated  on 
high  ground,  and  was  buried  by  a  shower  of  ashes 


164        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  buried  city.  Street  of  Tombs. 

and  stones  that  were  rained  down  upon  it  "by  the  erup- 
tion of  Vesuvius.  When  the  discovery  was  made  a 
hundred  years  ago,  the  city  was  disinterred  by  re- 
moving the  superincumbent  mass  that  had  crushed 
the  roofs  of  the  buildings,  and  exposing  the  streets 
and  squares,  the  temples,  and  forums,  and  baths  to 
the  eye  of  heaven  as  broadly  as  the  city  we  have 
just  left.  Only  about  a  fourth  part  of  the  town  has 
yet  been  revealed,  and  little  or  no  progress  has  re- 
cently been  made  in  the  work.  We  have  come  to 
the  gate,  for  the  government  guards  it  with  vigil- 
ance, and  must  pay  for  admission.  The  door  is 
thrown  open,  and  we  stand  at  once  in  the  "  Street  of 
Tombs."  It  is  a  fitting  entrance  to  such  a  city  as 
this.  The  wheel-worn  pavement  of  huge  stones  is 
as  firm  as  if  laid  yesterday.  On  each  side  of  us 
are  the  monuments  of  the  men  who  had  been  buried 
and  perhaps  forgotten  when  the  city  itself  was  made  a 
tomb.  We  read  the  inscriptions  in  Latin,  and  copied 
some  of  them.  One  of  them,  "  N.  Velasio  Grato,  Vix 
Anno  XII.,"  scarcely  in  his  twelfth  year.  We  en- 
tered the  house  of  Diomede.  In  its  portico  of  four- 
teen columns  was  found  the  skeleton  of  a  soldier  who 
did  not  fly  from  his  post  when  the  storm  came.  We 
went  down  into  the  basement  where  the  family,  doubt- 
less, took  refuge ;  for  seventeen  skeletons  were  dis- 
covered there,  the  most  of  them  females,  as  the  brace- 
lets and  necklaces  of  gold  would  indicate.  The  ashes 
that  settled  on  them  became  caked,  and  we  saw  im- 
pressions or  casts  that  preserve  the  forms,  and  even 
the  texture  of  the  dress.     One  of  these  was  against 


POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS.  165 

Resurrection.  House  of  Ballast 

the  wall  ill  a  crouching  posture — an  image  of  terror, 
and  a  mournful  monument  of  the  night  of  woe.  The 
amphora3  or  jars  for  wine  are  still  standing  here,  im- 
bedded in  the  volcanic  alluvium,  which  penetrated 
even  these  recesses.  As  we  came  up  from  these  sad- 
dening scenes,  that  imparted  a  sense  of  the  real  to  the 
place,  I  felt  as  if  in  a  dead  city  on  the  morning  of  the 
resurrection,  for  the  few  travellers  like  ourselves  walk- 
ing among  these  desolations,  appeared  to  have  sud- 
denly come  to  life  in  the  midst  of  a  mighty  sepulchre. 
Along  the  melancholy  streets  we  wander,  looking  in 
at  the  shops,  where  the  counters  on  which  "business 
was  done  are  still  standing ;  here  is  a  bakery,  as  we 
learn  from  the  ovens  and  the  troughs,  in  which  the 
corn  was  found ;  here  an  oil  store ;  here  the  house  of 
a  surgeon ;  here  a  tavern.  In  front  of  it  is  a  fount- 
ain ;  and  here  are  the  public  baths.  We  enter  the 
courts  of  one  of  these  houses,  for  they  do  not  open  at 
once  from  the  street,  but  are  built  around  an  open 
square.  This  is  the  house  of  Sallust,  and  evidently 
the  abode  of  one  of  the  wealthiest  of  the  men  of  Pom- 
peii. The  entrance,  with  its  pilasters  and  stucco  cap- 
pitals — the  atrium,  with  its  fountain  and  impluvmm  in 
the  shape  of  a  shell ;  its  beautifully-frescoed  walls,  its 
gardens,  paved  pathways,  and  spacious  area,  show  that 
it  must  have  been  a  splendid  mansion  in  its  day.  On 
the  wall  of  a  range  of  apartments  secluded  from  the 
rest  is  a  painting  of  Actason  punished  for  his  discovery 
of  Diana  in  her  bath ;  a  picture  that  intimates  the 
mysterious  uses  of  these  chambers.  The  sleeping 
rooms  in  all  the  buildings  we  entered  were  small ;  but 


166        EUKOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Skeleton  in  jewels.  Beware  of  the  Dog. 

these  were  on  a  larger  scale  than  many  others,  and 
near  them  was  found  the  skeleton  loaded  with  gold 
bracelets  and  rings,  and  supposed  to  be  the  remains 
of  her  who  once  was  the  mistress  of  these  halls. 

We  pass  on ;  and  the  lascivious  paintings  we  find 
on  the  walls,  and  the  disgusting  insignia  which  sculp- 
ture has  affixed  to  the  door-posts  of  the  houses,  con- 
tinually remind  us  that  this  city  could  not  have  been 
better  than  Sodom,  and  deserved  its  fate.  Stepping 
into  the  portal  of  another  house  we  find  the  figure  of 
a  dog  in  the  mosaic  pavement,  and  the  words,  Cave 
Oanem — "Beware  of  the  Dog,"  giving  the  same  cau- 
tion which  we  meet  with  in  our  own  times.  In  one 
house  a  most  beautiful  white  marble  fountain  stands, 
with  elegant  shell-work  about  it,  and  the  most  deli- 
cate tracery  of  the  chisel  is  seen  in  the  finish  of  the 
structure.  Statues  which  once  adorned  it  have  been 
removed  to  the  Museum.  In  another  fountain  were 
marble  statues  with  open  mouths,  from  which  the  jets 
had  leaped.  Here  the  cornice  and  frieze  were  ex- 
quisitely perfect,  and  the  small  columns  supporting 
the  gallery  were  so  light  and  easy  that  they  seem- 
ed pleased  with  their  burden.  Another  fountain  had 
similar  statues  in  bronze,  with  swans  and  cupids  in 
marble,  and  curious  frescoes  on  the  walls  around.  In 
the  house  of  Castor  and  Pollux  a  fish-pond  was  in 
the  centre  of  the  court ;  the  walls  were  covered  witli 
fruit  and  flowers,  with  Apollo  and  Daphne,  Venus  and 
Adonis,  and  other  nude  figures.  A  glass  had  been 
put  over  one  of  the  most  voluptuous  pictures  to  pre- 
serve it  from  farther  exposure  to  the  air,  not  the  eye. 


POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS.  167 

Furniture.  Street  crossings. 

In  Casa  Apollo  the  bedrooms  were  painted  down  to 
what  might  be  the  height  of  the  bed  with  frescoes, 
whose  colors  are  still  brilliant,  and  the  figures  perfect. 
I  picked  np  some  of  the  broken  plaster,  and  the  guide 
remarked  that  all  Pompeii  would  go  to  America,  if 
travellers  were  allowed  to  carry  off  what  they  wished. 
In  another  stood  a  marble  table  of  exceeding  beauty, 
and  wine-coolers  underneath  it ;  a  splendid  court  in 
front,  and  a  dancing-saloon  with  fluted  columns  of 
fine  finish,  having  the  names  of  ancient  revelers  in 
these  courts  scratched  upon  them.  Through  many 
of  these  houses,  to  which  names  have  been  given  from 
the  prominent  objects  discovered  in  them,  we  were 
led,  admiring  the  great  variety  of  decorations,  but 
often  shocked  at  the  universal  taste  displayed  for  the 
sensual  and  voluptuous. 

We  crossed  the  streets  on  square  stones  laid  at 
short  intervals,  so  that  the  foot-passer  might  step 
from  one  to  the  other,  and  the  wheels  would  go  be- 
tween them.  At  the  end  of  the  street  we  come  to  the 
embankment  of  ashes  and  earth  which  has  not  been 
removed,  covering  yet  other  buildings  which  may  con- 
tain more  precious  and  interesting  remains  than  any 
which  have  been  brought  to  light.  I  felt  as  if  I  would 
be  glad  to  have  power  to  say  to  this  mountain,  "be 
thou  removed  and  cast  into  the  sea."  The  king  spends 
four  or  five  thousand  dollars  yearly  on  the  protection 
and  improvement  of  the  city,  but  no  progress  is  made 
in  the  work  of  excavation.  Now  we  pass  on  and  visit 
the  temples  of  Venus  and  of  Jupiter,  the  magnificent 
amphitheatre  in  the  highest  part  of  the  city,  where,  on 


168  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Work  of  ruin.  Beggars  and  guides. 

seats  of  Parian  marble  the  spectators  sat  and  looked 
down  into  the  arena,  or  off  upon  the  bay — we  enter 
the  Forum,  surrounded  on  three  sides  by  a  Doric  col- 
onnade of  pure  white  marble  columns.  From  the  ped- 
estals in  front  of  the  columns,  the  statues  have  been 
removed,  but  we  get  an  idea  of  the  artistic  beauty 
which  this  square  must  have  displayed.  These  re- 
mains are  impressive  and  suggestive.  We  are  carried 
back  to  the  period  of  the  city's  destruction,  seventy- 
nine  years  after  Christ,  when  the  fiery  torrents  rolled 
down  the  sides  of  the  mountain,  and  the  clouds  of 
earth  and  ashes  rose  from  the  crater  and  then  fell,  a 
fearful  pall,  and  covered  these  temples  and  theatres 
and  habitations  of  men.  That  night  which  settled 
upon  Pompeii  lasted  seventeen  hundred  years,  and  the 
day  which  then  dawned  revealed  the  awfulness  of  the 
judgment  which  came  in  the  midst  of  her  pleasures 
and  her  sins. 

We  spent  the  entire  day  in  these  meditations  among 
the  tombs,  and  it  was  long  after  midnight  before  I  was 
able  to  forget  the  day  in  dreams. 

The  next  morning  by  nine  o'clock  we  were  off  for 
VESUVIUS.  By  the  same  carriage-road  as  the  day  be- 
fore, and  with  many  of  the  same  sights  around  us,  we 
drove  to  Resina,  where  we  were  beset  by  the  motli- 
cst  and  sturdiest  set  of  guides,  beggars,  and  boys  we 
had  yet  encountered.  The  guides  were  ready  to  fur- 
nish horses  and  conduct  us  to  Vesuvius.  The  beggars 
wanted  money,  and  the  boys  would  sell  us  sticks  to 
walk  up  the  mountain,  or  they  would  go  along  and 
help  us.     We  had  been  advised  to  find  Vincent  Coz- 


POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS.  169 

OOEEolino.  Tlie  ride. 

zolino,  who  had  conducted  Ross,  Forbes,  Humbolt, 
and  other  great  men,  and  was  therefore  the  man  for 
us !  We  inquired  for  him,  and  one  guide  claimed  to 
he  his  brother,  and  another  his  cousin,  but  the  real 
Cozzolino  was  not  to  be  found.  His  house  was  near, 
and  thither  we  went.  He  was  absent,  but  we  found 
his  son,  a  smart  young  fellow,  who  produced  his  book 
of  certificates,  and  among  them  one  from  Professor 
Silliman,  whose  commendation  was  all-sufficient,  and 
we  committed  ourselves  at  once  to  his  care.  Giovanni, 
for  that  was  his  name,  supplied  us  at  once  with 
horses,  and  we  set  off  with  the  whole  gang  of  boys, 
beggars,  and  guides  in  full  cry  after  us.  They  as- 
sured us  that  one  guide  would  not  be  enough,  we 
should  need  help  in  climbing  the  mountain,  and  each 
one  had  some  peculiar  service  to  render  which  was 
quite  indispensable  to  our  success.  By  dint  of  hard 
riding  we  managed  to  get  away  from  them,  and  by  a 
road  that  was  well-paved  and  had  been  for  a  thousand 
years,  we  rode  on  for  an  hour  and  then  commenced  an 
ascent  by  a  winding  but  easy  path,  which,  after  an- 
other hour,  brought  us  to  the  table-land,  where  stands 
the  Hermitage  with  refreshments  for  travellers.  Our 
way  had  led  us  through  fields  in  which  men  were  at 
work,  and  many  women  saluted  us  as  we  passed. 
Vast  strata  of  lava  were  lying  in  great  ridges,  along 
the  sides  of  which  the  vines  were  growing  luxuriant- 
ly, where  the  waves  of  liquid  stone  had  once  flowed 
and  cooled,  now  stretching  in  long  rows  like  rivers 
from  the  mountain  to  the  sea.  We  often  paused  on 
our  upward  way  to  look  back  on  the  enchanting  pros- 
Vol.  II  — H 


170  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  vie\r.  Climbing  the  cone. 

pect — the  neat  white  cottages  on  the  hillsides,  the 
villages  on  the  plain,  the  city,  the  bay,  the  islands, 
and  the  blue  sea.  A  glorious  vision,  every  moment 
growing  more  beautiful  as  we  ascend  and  take  in  a 
wider  view.  Now  we  observe  successive  layers  of 
lava,  with  the  common  earth  between ;  on  the  border 
of  a  ravine  we  could  thus  count  four  strata  deposited 
by  as  many  overflows  of  the  boiling  caldron.  After 
leaving  the  Hermitage  we  crossed  immense  fields  of 
lava,  over  which  a  path  for  the  horses  has  been  made, 
and  in  single  file  we  made  our  way  to  the  foot  of  the 
cone  of  Vesuvius.  We  are  now  between  Monte  Som- 
ma  and  Vesuvius.  They  were  one  in  olden  times, 
till  the  great  eruption  of  a.d.  79  left  this  valley 
after  the  mountain  had  flowed  down  into  the  plain 
and  the  sea,  and  buried  the  cities  of  Herculaneum 
and  Pompeii.  At  the  base  of  the  cone  a  dozen  fel- 
lows were  awaiting  the  arrival  of  travellers,  and  with 
sedan  chairs  would  carry  those  to  the  summit  who 
preferred  that  to  walking ;  and  when  we  all  refused  to 
be  carried,  they  followed  us,  insisting  that  we  should 
allow  them  to  haul  us  up  with  a  handkerchief  about 
our  waists.  Taking  the  track  along  the  side  of  a 
ridge  of  lava,  now  and  then  leaving  it  for  the  ashes, 
into  which  we  sank*  and  slipped  back  about  as  fast  as 
we  got  up,  we  climbed  as  perpendicularly  as  up  a 
ruined  stairway  of  some  old  castle.  From  time  to 
time  I  was  obliged  to  sit  down  on  the  ragged  piles  of 
lava,  and  gather  strength  for  the  ascent,  for  the  sum- 
mit seemed  to  recede  as  we  approached  it.  But  we 
did  it  in  forty  minutes,  from  the  base  of  the  cone. 


POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS.  171 


Purgatory. 


Now  on  the  rim  of  the  crater,  the  ground  on  which  we 
are  treading  is  opened  with  seams  or  cracks,  from 
which  smoke  or  steam  issues  continually,  and  if  we 
listen  we  can  hear  the  roar  of  the  internal  fires  be- 
neath our  feet.  We  went  a  few  steps  below  the 
verge  to  get  some  protection  from  the  cool  winds  that 
blew  too  freshly  on  us  in  our  heat,  and  there  we 
placed  a  lot  of  eggs  in  the  crevices  of  the  earth,  and 
made  Vesuvius  cook  them  for  our  dinner.  Refreshed 
and  rested,  we  descended  a  hundred  feet  into  the 
crater,  and,  standing  on  a  ledge  of  rocks,  we  could  see 
down  into  still  lower  depths,  from  which  the  smoke 
was  rising,  but  no  fire  was  perceptible.  After  the 
interior  of  the  crater  has  been  cleaned  out  by  a  great 
eruption,  it  is  easy  to  go  down  into  it  and  make  such 
an  exploration ;  but  it  is  gradually  filled  up  by  the 
upheaving  of  the  boiling  mass,  and  when  full,  it  flows 
over  and  runs  in  rivers  down  the  mountain  side,  or  a 
mighty  eructation  throws  it  up  into  the  air  to  descend 
in  a  storm  of  red-hot  stones  and  scoriae.  Enveloped 
in  the  thick  sulphurous  vapor  that  rose  from  the  abyss, 
we  were  sometimes  unable  to  see  up  or  down,  and 
appeared  to  ourselves  to  be  lost  in  the  vestibule  of 
some  purgatorial  cavern,  from  which  deliverance  was 
doubtful.  For  a  few  moments  the  clouds  would  clear 
away,  and  we  then  launched  huge  stones  into  the 
abyss,  listening  to  hear  their  roll  and  bound  after 
they  had  passed  out  of  sight.  I  write  these  lines 
sitting  on  the  rocks  as  near  the  bottom  of  the  crater 
as  I  could  reach. 

It  was  harder  to  get  out  of  it  than  in.     But  once 


172  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Sulphur.  Looking  off. 

more  on  the  verge  above,  we  pursued  our  footway 
around  the  crater,  perhaps  a  mile  and  a  half  in  cir- 
cumference; "but  the  strong  sulphur  clouds  of  smoke 
and  steam  so  nearly  choked  me,  that  I  was  obliged  to 
cover  my  face  with  my  handkerchief,  and  trust  to  the 
guide  to  lead  me  through.  Happily  the  wind  was 
favorable,  and  when  we  came  around  to  the  western 
side  we  were  relieved,  and  could  look  off  on  the  mag- 
nificent prospect  which  the  summit  of  Vesuvius  com- 
mands. It  was  an  entrancing  sight.  There  is  no 
other  like  it  in  the  earth.  If  this  has  been  said  of  a 
score  of  other  scenes,  let  them  be  all  unsaid,  that  the 
view  from  Vesuvius  may  bear  the  palm.  "We  can 
now  look  off  far  into  the  country,  where  cities  have 
been,  and  white  villages  now  are,  and  smiling  vine- 
yards, down  into  whose  bosom  these  black  streams 
extend  from  the  sides  of  the  mountain.  And  here  is 
beautiful  Naples,  girding  the  sea  with  its  suburban 
villages  ;  and  there  lie  the  islands  of  Capri  and  Ischia, 
and  this  "great  and  wide  sea."  But  we  must  not  be 
looking  off.  We  plunge  our  walking-sticks  into  the 
ground,  and  out  rushes  the  smoke  and  sulphurous 
gas.  We  walk  on  and  find  new  openings,  and  hot 
steam  issues,  before  which  we  could  not  hold  our 
hands.  We  step  across  wide  fissures  from  which  the 
scalding  vapor  was  ascending,  and  we  could  distinctly 
hear  the  roar  of  the  boiling  caldron  below.  At  last 
we  completed  the  circuit  of  the  crater's  rim,  and  sat 
down  again  to  rest  and  think.  What  a  wonderful  past 
lias  been  around  this  burning  mountain !  Before  the 
Phoenicians  came  hither  these  flames  had  been  burn- 


POMPEII     AND     VESUVIUS.  173 

Getting  down  again.  Paying  guards. 

ing,  and  the  Syriac  language  gave  the  volcano  its 
name.  Jupiter  Tonans,  the  Thunderer,  once  had  a 
temple  on  the  summit — "  Jovi  Vesuvio  sacrum,  D.D." 
Pliny's  graphic  story  of  that  awful  eruption  which 
destroyed  the  cities  of  the  plain,  we  read  while  in  full 
view  of  all  the  localities  which  he  describes.  It  gave 
a  terrible  reality  to  the  scene.  Other  cities  are  now 
lying  nearer  to  this  crater  than  Pompeii,  and  are 
thoughtlessly  treasuring  up  wrath  against  a  similar 
day  of  wrath.  May  God  save  them  from  such  a 
doom  ! 

It  is  time  to  descend.  The  sun  is  on  the  downhill 
side,  and  we  have  a  buried  city  yet  to  see.  Away  we 
went  through  the  soft  ashes  which  had  been  soaked 
by  a  heavy  rain  the  night  before,  and  now  made  a 
yielding  bed  for  our  feet,  as  by  successive  leaps  of  ten 
or  fifteen  feet  at  every  bound  we  came  down,  and 
never  paused  to  look  back,  and  had  no  need  to  rest 
till  we  were  at  the  foot  of  the  cone.  This  operation 
did  not  occupy  more  than  ten  minutes,  and  was  full 
of  excitement. 

Mounting  our  horses,  we  were  called  on  to  pay  a 
man  who  was  dressed  as  a  soldier,  marching  around 
with  a  gun  on  his  shoulder. 

"What  for,  pray?" 

"  Oh,  the  rascals  who  are  here  pretending  to  be 
guides,  would  plunder  every  body  who  fell  into  their 
hands,  if  it  were  not  for  the  guards  which  the  govern- 
ment places  here  for  your  protection." 

This  being  done,  and  half  a  dozen  more  being  paid 
for  some  service  or  other,  we  hardly  knew  what,  we 


174  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Another  buried  city.  Solid  lava. 

got  away  and  had  an  easy  and  pleasant  ride  down 
again  to  Resina. 

At  Resina  is  the  entrance  to  the  subterranean  city 
of  Herculaneum.  This  city  was  buried  at  the  same 
time  with  Pompeii,  but  was  discovered  by  the  opening 
of  a  well,  some  fifty  years  before  its  sisters  Portici  and 
Resina  had  been  built  upon  the  earth,  over  the  temples 
and  palaces  that  had  been  buried  and  forgotten  for 
many  centuries,  when  accident  led  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  fact  that  houses,  and  streets,  and  statues,  and 
all  the  remains  of  ancient  and  splendid  art  were  to 
be  found  some  sixty  feet  below  the  surface.  The 
keeper  of  this  strange  museum  lighted  his  torch  and 
led  us  by  several  successive  flights  of  steps,  cut 
through  solid  lava,  down  and  down  into  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  till  he  ushered  us  into  a  stupendous  thea- 
atre,  where,  on  eighteen  rows  of  seats,  divided  into 
six  compartments,  the  people  had  sat  to  look  on  the 
stage,  which  has  been  cleared  so  as  to  reveal  its  whole 
extent.  The  orchestra  is  one-third  larger  than  that  of 
the  largest  modern  theatre  in  Europe.  A  few  inscrip- 
tions are  yet  legible,  and  some  have  been  removed. 
We  explored  the  various  accessible  parts  of  this  vast 
building,  perhaps  more  impressed  with  the  awfulness 
of  the  catastrophe  that  overwhelmed  the  city  than  we 
were  at  Pompeii.  There,  we  were  out  under  the  broad 
light  of  heaven,  and  we  had  to  believe  that  once  all 
those  ruins  had  been  concealed  from  view  by  the  su- 
perincumbent masses  of  earth  and  ashes ;  here,  we 
are  underneath  the  solid  lava,  harder  than  the  granite, 
and  have  come  sixty-five  feet  down  to  a  theatre  that 


H  ERG  ULAN  ELM.  175 


would  seat  eight  thousand  living  men.  On  the  south 
side  of  this  theatre  is  a  temple  in  the  midst  of  a  pub- 
lic square,  from  which  a  broad  paved  street  leads  off 
to  another  temple ;  and  in  the  midst  of  the  street  a 
basilica  with  a  portico  supported  by  forty-two  columns, 
and  adorned  with  paintings.  The  explorations  have 
been  extended  until  other  temples  and  splendid  resi- 
dences, fountains  and  water-courses,  statues  and  beau- 
tiful mosaics  have  Deen  discovered ;  but,  as  yet,  the 
extent  of  the  city  has  never  been  ascertained.  Prob- 
ably far  more  wonderful  discoveries  might  be  made 
if  the  excavations  were  carried  on,  but  it  is  attended 
with  so  much  expense,  that  it  will  not  probably  be 
soon  resumed. 


CHAPTER    XIY. 

FROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE. 

In  the  Bay  of  Naples — the  Shore — Capri — Tiberius — Messina — Malta 
— The  Company — Greece — A  Hermit — Syra — The  Piraeus — Na- 
tives— Their  Costume — Xerxes  and  Mount  Egalios — Ancient  Walls 
— Temple  of  Theseus — Otho's  Palace — Eev.  Dr.  Jonas  King. 

We  must  leave  Naples,  and  Italy  too.  We  set  out 
by  the  French  steamer  Bospkorus,  November  23d, 
at  three  P.  M.,  for  Malta  and  the  East  generally.  The 
Bay  of  Naples  we  had  seen  from  every  commanding- 
point  of  view,  and  had  "been  compelled  to  admit, 
though  we  resisted  it  long,  that  for  picturesque  "beauty 
it  is  without  a  peer.  And  now,  as  we  came  into  the 
centre  of  the  more  than  semicircular  shore,  extend- 
ing from  Baiae  away  around  to  Castellamare,  one 
long  and  splendid  city  lining  the  edge  of  the  bay, 
while  the  hills  and  mountains  rise  in  grandeur  in  the 
rear,  and  Vesuvius  with  his  eternal  pillar  of  cloud 
stands  in  full  view,  giving  terrific  effect  to  the  feelings 
with  which  we  contemplate  this  scene,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  there  is  nothing  comparable  to  the 
Bay  of  Naples. 

The  change  was  sudden  and  gloomy  from  the  calm 
loveliness  of  this  bay  to  the  rough  bosom  of  the  Med- 
iterranean sea.  No  sooner  had  we  passed  Capri,  on 
whose    perpendicular    rocks   Tiberius   had    his    villa, 


PROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE.  177 

The  Straits.  Malta. 

where  he  indulged  his  luxury  and  his  cruelty,  which 
have  alike  made  his  name  infamous  even  in  Roman 
history,  than  we  were  tossed  by  waves  more  distress- 
ing to  weak  stomachs  than  any  we  had  on  the  Atlan- 
tic. Short  and  sudden,  giving  a  man  no  time  to  re- 
cover from  one  plunge  before  he  is  racked  with  an- 
other, they  soon  threw  many  of  us  into  those  qualms 
which  may  not  be  described,  though  the  attempt  has 
been  so  often  made.  Yet  the  longest  night  has  a 
morning,  and  so  Jiad  this  ;  a  lovely  morning  when  we 
found  ourselves  in  the  port  of  Messina,  on  the  coast 
of  Sicily.  I  rose  early,  in  time  to  enjoy  the  passage 
through  Scylla  and  Charybdis,  and  the  beautiful 
scenery  as  we  enter  the  Straits.  A  miserable  set  of 
natives  crowded  around  the  steamer  as  we  came  to 
anchor,  and  in  one  of  their  boats  we  went  ashore, 
and  spent  a  couple  of  hours  in  riding  around  the  city, 
a  very  well-built  town ;  the  harbor  strongly  fortified 
by  nature  from  the  storms,  and  by  art  against  the 
enemy ;  so  that  Messina  is  reckoned  among  the  best 
ports  in  the  Mediterranean.  Another  night  brought 
us  to  Malta;  an  island  famous  in  the  voyages  of 
Paul,  and  now  the  great  stopping-place  for  vessels 
going  to  and  returning  from  the  East.  We  spent 
a  day  in  Malta,  the  chief  city  of  which  is  Valetta, 
situated  on  the  heights,  and  fanned  perpetually  by 
the  sea-breeze,  in  a  sweet  place  for  the  weary  travel- 
ler's rest. 

At  Malta  we  were  transferred  from  the  Bosphorus 
to  the  steamer  JVile,  bound  for  Syra,  Smyrna,  and 
Constantinople.     It  was  amusing  to  observe  the  varie- 

I !  *' 


178  EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Our  company.  We  w  i 


ties  of  character  and  nation  we  had  on  board.  Of 
forty  passengers,  eight  were  Americans,  as  many  En- 
glish and  Scotch,  about  the  same  number  of  French, 
five  of  these  being  officers  of  the  army  going  to  offer 
their  services  to  the  Sultan  to  fight  the  Russians. 
Then  we  had  Turks  who  loved  to  sit  cross-legged 
and  smoke  the  nargilee  ;  Greeks  too,  and  Armenians, 
and  a  Jew  or  two.  Little  tables  on  deck  afforded  the 
sailors  of  different  nations  separate  places  to  eat  if 
they  choose  to  eat  alone,  and  all  these  tribes  and 
tongues  lived  in  harmony  for  three  days,  and  parted 
good  friends.  One  of  these  days  was  the  Sabbath, 
and  as  fine  a  Sunday  as  the  sun  ever  gladdened.  In 
the  morning  we  were  running  along  under  the  shores 
of  the  Morea.  At  last  these  eyes  were  looking  upon 
Greece,  and  the  longings  of  thirty  years  were  grati- 
fied !  The  shores  were  rough  and  the  hills  barren. 
In  then  rugged  outlines  there  was  beauty,  but  it  is 
not  yet  the  Greece  I  came  to  see.  We  passed  the 
bay  of  Xavarino,  famous  for  the  great  naval  battle  of 
1825,  when  modern  Greece  was  struggling  for  deliver- 
ance from  the  tyranny  of  the  Turk,  and  now  we  begin 
to  feel  the  enthusiam  which  the  history  of  all  this 
land  is  fitted  to  inspire.  As  the  day  advanced,  it 
was  interesting  to  observe  the  several  parties  of  wor- 
shippers in  various  groups,  engaged  in  their  own  way 
in  offering  prayers  to  Him  who  had  given  us  a  safe 
passage  over  a  boisterous  sea.  Two  Roman  Catholic 
priests  were  reading  their  breviary  together.  A  Church 
of  England  family  sat  in  the  stern  of  the  steamer,  and 
enjoyed  their  own  forms,  while  a   larger  group  of  us 


FROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE.  179 


AtSyra. 


accepted  the  captain's  polite  offer  of  the  saloon,  where 
we  had  service  as  we  would  at  home. 

At  noon  we  ran  by  Cape  Matapan,  and  toward 
night  passed  Cape  St.  Angelo — a  rocky  promontory, 
on  which  a  solitary  hermit  lives  in  a  rude  hut  of 
stones,  subsisting  on  the  scanty  provisions  sent  to 
him  from  passing  vessels,  in  return  for  his  prayers. 
He  came  out  of  his  grotto  and  extended  his  arms  to 
bless  the  vessel.  The  sailors  took  off  their  caps  and 
received  his  blessing  with  reverence,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  we  were  out  of  sight,  leaving  him  to  his 
solitude — the  first  one  of  this  race  of  men  I  have  seen. 
The  next  morning  we  awoke  and  found  ourselves  in 
the  port  of  Syra,  one  of  the  isles  of  the  Archipelago. 
The  town  stands  on  a  hillside,  and  presents  a  gay 
appearance  from  the  fine  harbor.  The  Greek  boat- 
men hover  around  the  ship,  in  their  native  costume, 
now  singular  to  us — full  pantaloons  tied  around  the 
ankles,  and  loose  jackets — and  wish  to  take  us  ashore. 
One  steamer  is  just  coming  into  port  from  Constanti- 
nople, and  another  is  standing  down  from  Athens.  In 
the  mean  time  we  put  off  in  a  small  boat ;  a  hand- 
some-looking native  in  the  Albanian  dress,  a  white 
short  petticoat,  with  a  dark  scarf,  embroidered,  over 
the  shoulders,  decidedly  a  gay  and  picturesque  cos- 
tume, led  us  to  a  small  tavern,  where  we  got  a  miser- 
able breakfast,  and  then  climbed  the  hill  on  which  the 
town  stands. 

From  these  heights  we  looked  out  upon  a  group  of 
islands  with  familiar  names — Naxos,  and  Delos,  and 
Paros,   famed  for  its  quarries,   from  which  the  cele- 


180  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Parian  marble. 


brated  statues  of  ancient  times  and  temples  had  been 
made.  They  have  not  been  worked  for  many  years ; 
but  the  French  obtained  permission  to  carry  off  what 
they  wished  for  the  decoration  of  the  tomb  of  Napo- 
leon. 

We  left  Syra  at  dusk,  went  to  sleep  on  board  the 
steamer  Lycurgus,  and  awoke  in  the  morning  in  the 
harbor  of  the  Piraeus. 

Athens  is  six  miles  from  the  shore,  but  we  are  even 
now  in  the  midst  of  scenes  that  stir  all  the  sympathies 
of  one  who  venerates  the  spot  that  has  been  renowned 
in  classic  story.  We  are  hard  by  the  Bay  of  Salamis  : 
and  yonder  is  the  tomb  of  Themistocles,  who  led  the 
fleet  of  the  Greeks  in  the  great  fight  with  the  ships 
of  Xerxes.  There  is  the  mount  ^Egalios,  on  which  a 
lofty  seat  was  raised  for  the.  Persian  monarch,  that  he 
might  see  the  battle  which  resulted  in  tiie  destruction 
of  his  "  Invincible  Armada."  He  had  crossed  the  Hel- 
lespont, and  entered  the  peninsula  with  the  greatest 
army  that  was  ever  led  by  one  man.  Compared  with 
it,  how  puny  are  the  preparations  for  modern  war. 
For  three  years  previously  he  had  been  storing  pro- 
visions for  his  troops  along  the  line  of  intended 
march ;  and  now,  at  the  head  of  more  than  two  mill- 
ions of  men,  and  with  a  greater  number  of  irregulars, 
servants  and  women,  so  that  he  had  between  four  and 
five  millions  in  his  train,  he  was  coming  down  upon 
the  plains  of  Attica.  At  the  pass  of  Thermopylae  lie 
was  staggered  for  a  moment  by  the  stern  resistance 
of  the  Spartan  heroes  under  the  brave  Leonidas ;  but 
finding  another  route,  which  treason  made  known  to 


FROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE.  181 


Athenian  landlord. 


him,  lie  came  on  in  triumph,  and  Athens  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  conqueror.  But  the  destruction  of  his 
fleet  determined  Xerxes  to  fly  from  Greece,  leaving 
300,000  of  his  millions  behind  him  to  complete  the 
conquest  of  the  country. 

It  was  to  see  the  scenes  of  such  stupendous  events, 
that  I  came  on  deck  the  first  morning  of  our  arrival 
in  the  Pmeus.  But  all  the  romance,  even  of  histor- 
ical association,  was  scattered  when  Demetrius,  the 
keeper  of  one  of  the  hotels  at  Athens,  presented  him- 
self, and  desired  us  to  take  quarters  at  his  house. 
With  a  "book  full  of  recommendations  from  travellers 
who  had  preceded  us,  he  urged  his  claim,  and  the 
landlords  of  various  other  establishments  made  simi- 
lar applications.  We  committed  ourselves  to  the  ten- 
der mercies  of  Demetrius,  who  agreed  to  see  that  all 
our  luggage  was  speedily  transferred  to  the  city  of 
Minerva,  where  he  would  immediately  send  us  in  a 
carriage.  The  same  tribe  of  baggage-smashers,  called 
porters,  that  are  the  annoyance  as  well  as  help  of  trav- 
ellers all  the  world  over,  were  ready  to  seize  us  and 
ours  before  we  left  the  ship ;  for  they  had  come  off  in 
small  boats  to  the  steamer's  side,  and  some  of  them 
had  got  on  deck,  in  their  zeal  to  serve  us  and  them- 
selves. A  picturesque-looking  set  of  fellows  they 
were,  in  spite  of  rags  and  dirt.  A  red  cap  with  a 
tassel  crowned  their  heads  ;  a  shawl  of  dark  color  was 
wound  about  their  shoulders,  and  secured  by  a  belt 
at  the  waist ;  a  skirt,  like  a  short  petticoat,  came  a 
little  below  the  knees  ;  leggins  and  shoes  completed 
the  costume — striking  and  neat,  though  rather  effem- 


182  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Natives. 


inate.  It  is  just  about  as  well  adapted  to  men  as 
the  Bloomer  costume  is  to  the  strong-minded  women 
of  our  day  and  country.  In  the  midst  of  a  small 
fleet  of  these  Greek  boats  we  made  our  way  to  the 
wharf,  and  set  foot  on  the  shores  of  Greece ! 

It  was  a  moment  of  life  from  which  to  date.  A 
dream  of  boyhood,  and  of  manhood  too,  was  at  length 
a  living,  real  presence.  I  had  been  here  in  spirit  a 
thousand  times :  I  know  I  am  here  now.  I  did  not 
look  after  my  luggage,  but,  trusting  to  Demetrius, 
looked  around  me  to  discover  more  of  the  land  of 
poets  and  philosophers  which  my  feet  were  at  last  al- 
lowed to  press. 

The  houses  of  the  village  or  town  of  the  Piraeus 
were  all  modern,  and  such  as  we  would  see  in  other 
European  towns.  A  military  school  is  established 
here,  and  the  youthful  soldiers  were  early  at  their 
drills.  The  natives  were  sorry-looking  men  for 
Greeks,  and  hardly  answered  a  reasonable  expecta- 
tion one  forms  of  the  descendants  of  Alcibiades  and 
Pericles.  But  we  were  now  getting  on  at  a  rapid 
pace  over  a  smooth  road  to  the  capitol.  Here  are  the 
ruins  of  the  great  walls  which  reached  from  Athens 
to  the  sea,  so  high  and  so  strong  that  the  city  could 
maintain  its  intercourse  with  the  harbor  though  the 
intervening  country  were  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
We  pass  a  monument  which  marks  the  spot  where  a 
bloody  battle  was  fought  with  the  Turks  when  the 
Greeks  were  last  struggling  for  independence.  Half 
way  to  the  city  we  find  three  taverns,  not  the  three 
that  Paul  saw  on  his  way  to  Home,  but  three  shops 


FKOM     ITALY     TO     GREECE. 


183 


Perfect. 


for  the  sale  of  drinks,  which  we  would  call  grog  shops 
at  home,  a  very  vulgar  name  in  such  a  classic  land 
as  this.  With  our  eyes  wide  open  to  catch  the  first 
sight  that  shall  remind  us  of  ancient  glory,  disgusted 
as  we  are  with  the  living  evidences  of  what  the  pres- 
ent is,  we  approach  a  massive,  mighty,  weather-stained 
but  beautiful  building :  a  temple  certainly,  but  what 
is  it  ?  "It  is  the  Temple  of  Theseus."  He  was  the 
greatest  of  all  Athenian  heroes,  the  hero  of  fable,  of 
song,  and  of  history;  and  when  he  died  they  wor- 
shipped him  as  a  god,   and  built  this  temple  to  his 


THE    THESEUM   AT   ATHENS. 


honor  469  years  before  Christ.  And  there  it  has 
stood  from  that  far-distant  date  to  the  present  hour; 
and  it  is  now  the  most  perfect  specimen  of  an  ancient 
pagan  temple  in  Greece,  and  perhaps  in  the  world. 


184  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Broken  marbles. 


'.iiuiish  roblnT. 


STATUE   OF   THESEUS 


We  entered  it.  Heaps  of  sculptured  marble  fragments 
of  tlie  works  of  old  masters  whose  names  have  been 
forgotten,  but  whose  works  are  now  disinterred  and 
admired,  were  scattered  around.  Within,  a  grand  mu- 
seum of  recovered  antiquities  has  been  gathered,  the 
study  of  which  might  detain  us  for  many  days.  Lord 
Elgin,  who  has  given  his  name  to  the  marbles  of  which 
he  robbed  the  sanctuaries  of  Greece,  meditated  the 
grand  enterprise  of  carrying  off  this  temple  bodily  to 
adorn  a  square  in  London ;  but  the  robbery  was  never 
effected.  He  made  dreadful  work  with  other  less 
formidable  schemes  of  plunder,  but  happily  this  stands 
where  it  has  stood,  with  its  walls  and  pillars  nearly 
entire,  for  more  than  two  thousand  years. 

Leaving  this  temple,    at  once   a  monument  and   a 


FROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE.  185 

The  palace.  Rev.  Dr.  King. 

mausoleum,  we  rode  into  the  modern  city  of  Athens ! 
Alas,  for  all  anticipations  of  seeing  the  people  who 
once  gave  law  and  literature  to  the  world!  Byron 
said,  "?Tis  Greece,  but  living  Greece  no  more,"  and 
I  confess  to  the  same  sad  feeling  when  we  passed  the 
mean  huts,  houses,  and  shops,  and  saw  the  evidences 
of  a  degenerate  and  partially  civilized  people. 

Demetrius  ushered  us  with  much  respect  into  his 
Hotel  des  Etrangers.  His  pleasant  wife  received  us 
courteously,  and  disposed  of  us  in  a  very  comfortable 
suite  of  rooms.  My  windows  looked  out  on  the  pal- 
ace of  the  King  of  Greece.  A  long,  plain,  marble 
edifice,  which  might  have  been  made  for  an  asylum 
without  incurring  any  charge  on  the  score  of  extrava- 
gance or  ornament,  is  the  residence  of  Otho  and  his 
Queen ;  the  palace  of  a  land  that  has  the  models  of 
architecture  for  the  study  of  all  lands. 

In  a  few  moments  after  our  arrival,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
King  called,  and  gave  us  a  cordial  welcome  to  Athens. 
Of  this  Dr.  King  I  can  not  forbear  a  sketch  before 
asking  you  to  go  with  me  and  with  him  into  the  city. 

The  men  who  were  in  Andover  Theological  Semi- 
nary in  1816-19  will  remember,  among  such  men  as 
Temple,  and  Fisk,  and  Goodell,  and  Parsons,  a  thin, 
pale  youth,  of  middle  stature,  a  hard  student,  gentle 
in  his  manners,  and  thoughtful  in  his  mien.  When 
Fisk  and  Parsons  went  out  as  missionaries  to  Pales- 
tine, they  asked  this  young  man,  their  friend,  Jonas 
King,  to  come  and  join  them.  He  said  if  they  would 
write  such  letters  to  him  as  would  make  him  believe 
it   to  be  his  duty,  he  would  certainly  come.      They 


186  E  UB  0  P  B     A  N  D     THE     E  A  S  T. 

Dr.  King  abroad.  His  travels. 

went.  He  pursued  his  studies  with  great  success, 
and  was  soon  called  to  the  Professorship  of  Oriental 
Languages  in  one  of  the  colleges  of  New  England. 
For  the  sake  of  superior  advantages  in  fitting  himself 
for  this  service  he  went  to  Paris,  and  there  his  studies 
brought  him  into  contact  with  some  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished men  of  science,  and  several  of  the  leading 
minds  of  Europe.  Parsons  died  after  a  short  serv- 
ice, and  found  a  lone  grave  in  Egypt.  Fisk  wrote  to 
Mr.  King,  then  in  Paris,  and  begged  him  to  come  to 
Jerusalem  and  take  the  vacant  place  by  his  side. 
Mr.  King  applied  to  a  few  gentlemen  of  wealth  for 
the  means  of  support  for  three  years,  and  in  a  signal 
manner  the  means  were  furnished.  The  American 
Board  of  Missions  accepted  his  offer  to  go  to  Jerusa- 
lem for  three  years.  The  Missionary  Society  of  the 
Netherlands,  and  the  Paris  Missionary  Society  gave 
him  funds  and  commission,  and  individuals  came  for- 
ward to  his  support,  so  that  he  was  sent  out  as  the 
representative  of  three  institutions.  Mr.  King  and 
the  eccentric  traveller  Wolff,  who  met  him  at  Malta, 
made  a  tour  of  three  months  in  Egypt,  distributing 
the  Scriptures  in  all  the  villages  up  and  down  the 
Nile,  and  then  crossing  the  desert,  went  to  the  Holy 
City.  Here  in  Joppa  Mr.  King  labored  for  three 
years,  and  then  went  down  to  Tarsus  on  his  w;n 
back  to  America,  with  rich  stores  of  Arabic  manu- 
scripts, and  the  fruits  of  his  years  of  researches  in 
these  Oriental  fields.  The  ship  in  which  he  was  to 
go  to  Smyrna  being  somewhat  leaky,  he  resolved  to 
cross  the  country,  and  send  his  effects  by  the  vessel. 


FROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE.  187 

Finds  his  vrifc.  Comes  to  Athens. 

On  its  voyage  the  ship  was  boarded  by  Greek  pirates 
and  plundered ;  and  all  the  books,  manuscripts,  etc., 
of  Mr.  King  were  swept  off  by  these  robbers  of  the 
sea.  This  loss  detained  him  in  Smyrna  for  six 
months.  Here  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of 
the  modern  Greek ;  and  here,  too,  he  met  the  lady 
who  has  since  been  for  so  many  years  his  noble  wife, 
the  companion  of  his  life,  the  solace  of  his  sorrows, 
and  the  mother  of  his  seven  lovely  children.  From 
Smyrna  he  went  to  Paris,  and  there  was  again  thrown 
into  the  families  and  the  society  of  eminent  men, 
whose  names  are  familiar  in  the  ears  of  the  world. 
With  them  he  read  and  expounded  the  Scriptures, 
and  found  a  wide  and  effectual  door  opened  for  the 
advancement  of  the  work  of  God.  Returning  to  the 
United  States,  he  travelled  for  some  months  in  the 
service  of  the  American  Board,  and  was  urged  by  the 
Ladies'  Greek  Committee  of  the  City  of  New  York  to 
go  to  Athens  in  connection  with  the  contributions 
then  sent  out  for  the  relief  of  the  starving  people  of 
that  country.  He  came,  and  not  long  afterward  was 
again  appointed  missionary  here.  He  accepted,  on 
condition  that  he  might  retire  at  any  time  by  giving 
six  months'  notice  of  his  intention.  With  this  condi- 
tion he  has  now  been  laboring  steadily  and  earnestly 
for  more  than  twenty-five  years,  and  has  never  yet 
revisited  his  native  land,  though  at  any  time  he  could 
do  so  in  thirty  days.  When  he  came  to  Athens,  it 
was  in  ruins,  and  in  the  power  of  the  Turks.  Not  a- 
pane  of  glass  was  in  the  city.  The  best  house  he 
could  find  had  no  roof  or  floor  to  it.     He  made  a 


1  EUBOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

His  labors.  Trial  and  sentence. 

shelter  for  himself  and  wife,  but  they  were  exposed 
by  night  and  day  to  the  constant  incursions  of  the 
Turks.  But  he  was  patient  and  prayerful;  trusting 
always,  and  always  wonderfully  cared  for  by  Him 
who  keeps  his  children  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand. 

The  attention  which  his  labors  were  exciting  among 
the  people,  the  numbers  flocking  to  his  house  to  re- 
ceive religious  instruction,  and  the  wide  diffusion  of 
religious  books,  awakened  the  opposition  of  the  priest- 
hood and  many  of  the  people  of  the  Greek  church. 
At  first  there  were  serious  and  deeply-concerted 
schemes  for  his  assassination.  The  American  Con- 
sul, on  leaving  Athens  for  a  season,  had  desired  Dr. 
King  to  act  as  consul  in  his  absence,  and  on  the  very 
next  day  after  receiving  the  American  flag,  his  house 
was  invaded  by  a  mob  with  every  demonstration  of 
violent  designs  upon  his  life.  The  display  of  the 
stripes  and  stars  dispersed  the  crowd. 

At  length  his  enemies  succeeded  in  bringing  him 
before  the  courts  of  Greece.  His  trial  was  a  mockery 
of  justice,  his  conviction  produced  by  no  shadow  of 
testimony,  and  his  sentence  was  imprisonment  and 
banishment. 

Since  my  visit,  the  government  of  Greece  has  re- 
mitted his  sentence ;  but  he  has  yet  great  occasion  to 
complain  of  wrongs  at  its  hands.  Twenty  years  ago 
the  Greek  government  found  it  convenient  to  appro- 
priate to  its  own  use  a  lot  of  land  belonging  to  Dr. 
King;  and  although  the  constitution  forbids  sue]' 
seizure,  unless  the  damages  are  first  appraised  and 
prepayment   made,    his   oft-repeated   and   urgent   de- 


FROM     ITALY     TO     GREECE.  189 


Wrongs.  Not  redressed. 

rnands  for  an  adjustment  of  his  claims  have  been  re- 
fused. Had  half  of  Dr.  King's  wrongs  been  suffered 
by  the  meanest  American  citizen  who  has  no  connec- 
tion with  the  missionary  movements  of  the  age,  they 
would  have  been  redressed  long  before  this  horn-.  A 
frigate  of  the  United  States  would  have  offered  its 
deck  as  the  place  for  the  discussion  and  settlement 
of  the  question,  and  all  the  presses  of  all  parties 
would  have  praised  the  energy  of  an  administration 
which  looks  to  the  honor  and  rights  of  American  citi- 
zenship at  the  ends  of  the  earth.  But  the  impression 
is  very  common  at  home  that  missionaries  must  look 
out  for  themselves,  and  avoid  trouble  by  holding  their 
tongues.  This  was  the  man  who  received  us,  and 
gave  us  a  brother's  hand  when  we  came  to  Greece. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS. 

The  Acropolis — Parthenon — Mars'  Hill — Prison  of  Socrates — Pnvx 
— King  and  Queen — The  Stadium — Jupiter  Olympus — Streams 
and  Fountains — A  Funeral — Market — Olives — Eleusis — Tower  of 
Winds — Future  of  Greece — The  People — Greek  Church — Mis- 
sionaries. 

All  impatient  to  see  the  antiquities  of  Athens,  and 
with  a  guide  and  interpreter,  we  left  the  house  of  Dr. 
King.  The  narrow  streets,  winding  and  irregular, 
we  could  not  have  threaded  alone.  But  we  were  led 
along  to  the  Lantern  of  Demosthenes,  a  small  round 
stone  building,  with  eight  columns  and  Corinthian 
capitals  supporting  a  cupola,  a  curious  monument  of 
the  ancients,  whose  design  is  lost  in  obscurity.  Near 
it  is  the  house  in  which  Byron  lived,  when  he,  a 
strange  exile  from  home  and  from  God,  was  leading 
his  vagabond  life  in  these  classic  lands.  "We  were 
seeking  the  Acropolis.  It  can  be  seen  from  any 
part  of  the  town.  A  circular  path  around  the  base, 
and  by  the  temple  of  Bacchus,  an  indistinguishable 
ruin,  leads  us  to  the  remains  of  the  theatre,  which 
must  have  covered  an  immense  extent  of  ground,  as 
the  massive  walls  and  broken  columns  plainly  attest. 
We  come  to  a  rough  wooden  gate,  which  a  porter 
opens,  and  we  show  him  a  permit  from  the  govern- 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS. 


191 


Acropolis. 


ment,  which  Dr.  King  had  given  us,  to  secure  admis- 
sion. For  in  this  day  of  devotion  to  the  "  almighty 
dollar,"  even  the  Parthenon  is  to  be  seen  for  a  piece 
of  silver.     The  Acropolis  was  the  centre  of  ancient 


;''",['■ 


THE   ACROPOLIS   RESTORED. 

Athens.  A  rocky  hill,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
high,  and  four  or  five  hundred  feet  across,  rising  al- 
most perpendicularly,  it  doubtless  indicated  the  site 
for  the  city,  of  which  it  was  at  once  the  ornament  and 
defence.  Other  cities  of  Greece  are  built  around  sim- 
ilar heights,  and  the  Acropolis  of  Corinth  is  visible 
sometimes  from  that  of  Athens. 

We  are  now  ascending  within  the  inclosure :  a  col- 
lection of  statues,  broken  marbles,  and  interesting  re- 
mains of  ancient  art  is  shown  at  the  door.  But  we 
are  in  too  great  haste  to  pause  over  these,  however 
they  might  instruct  and  please  us  at  another  time. 
We  pass  the  Temple  of  Victory,  Standing  on  the  spot 
whence  it  is  said  that  iEgeus  threw  himself  off  and 


192 


EUliOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


The  portal. 


perished,  when  his  son  was  coming  into  port  and  for- 
got to  hoist  the  signal  he  had  promised  as  a  sign  of 
his  success.  It  is  a  beautiful  building,  and  of  com- 
paratively recent  discovery. 

And.  now  we  are  in  front  of  the  Propylsea,  or  "  the 


THE   PKOP1 


entrances :"  magnificent  columns  that  might  have 
formed  the  gateway  to  the  palace  of  all  the  earth.  A 
wide  marble  stairway  leads  up  to  and  through  these 
columns  ;  steps  which  have  been  but  lately  uncovered 
from  the  rubbish  of  centuries;  steps  up  which  the 
men  of  Athens  trod  long  before  the  days  of  Christ  and 
Paul.  It  requires  no  imagination  to  inspire  a  thought- 
ful man  with  strong  emotions  when  he  puts  his  feet 
where  he  knows  that  Plato  and  Socrates,  Pericles  and 
Demosthenes  have  often  walked;  where  the  marble  is 
worn  away  by  the  sandals  of  great  men  whose  names 
he  has  associated  from  boyhood  with  philosophy,  po- 
etry, and  eloquence. 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS. 


IltTect  on  art. 


193 


Phidias. 


We  are  looking  on  the  Parthenon  !  "  The  most 
splendid  temple  on  the  most  splendid  site  for  a  tem- 
ple in  the  whole  world,"  is  the  building  now  before  us. 
In  its  effect  upon  art  in  past  and  future  ages,  as  the 
model  of  the  beautiful  and  sublime  in  architecture, 
this  pile  is  indeed  the  most  important  of  any  that  was 


JZ=! 


THE   PARTHENON. 


ever  reared.  "Parthenon"  is  "the  Virgin's  Cham- 
ber," and  was  so  called  because  it  was  the  temple  of 
Minerva,  and  contained  her  shrine,  the  great  work  of 
Phidias.  It  is  in  the  purest  style  of  Doric  architect- 
ure, with  eight  columns  in  front  and  rear,  and  sixteen 
on  each  side :  built  of  Pentelic  marble,  two  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  feet  long,  one  hundred  feet  broad, 
and  sixty-five  feet  high.  One  long,  central  building 
is  surrounded  by  a  peristyle  of  forty-six  pillars,  stand- 
ing on  a  platform  three  steps  high,  extending  com- 
pletely around  the  temple.  One  can  scarcely  record 
Vol.  II.— I 


194  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


ratal  shell.  Astonishing  discover}-. 

without  tears  that  this  glorious  structure  was  shat- 
tered into  ruins  after  it  had  stood  on  this  lofty  emi- 
nence, overlooking  the  plains  and  the  sea,  from  438 
B.C.  to  a.d.  1687,  when  the  Venetians  were  besieging 
the  city,  and  a  bomb-shell  exploded  in  the  centre  of 
the  Parthenon,  tin-owing  down  most  of  the  side  walls. 
The  front,  upon  which  we  are  now  gazing,  is  nearly 
perfect.  Drawings  and  models  of  it  have  been  so  often 
made,  and  so  frequently  has  it  been  copied  in  build- 
ing, that  every  one  is  familiar  with  its  form.  But 
you  will  see  it  and  not  yet  understand  the  secret  of 
its  wonderful  beauty.  We  are  assured  that  the  curve 
is  the  line  of  beauty ;  but  here  is  the  pure  Doric  that 
admits  of  nothing  save  the  severest  of  straight  lines. 
And  it  is  only  within  very  recent  times  it  has  been 
discovered  that  the  pediment  is  slightly  curved,  and 
the  pillars  are  not  perpendicular. 

"  Some  years  ago,"  says  a  recent  German  writer, 
Hettner,  "it  was  discovered,  by  exact  measurements 
of  the  Parthenon,  that  its  substructure  was  not  strict- 
ly horizontal :  it  rises  from  the  extremities  toward  the 
middle  in  a  slight  curve.  This  astonishing  discovery 
was  followed  by  a  second — that  the  pillars  were  not 
quite  perpendicular:  at  the  capital,  they  incline  an 
inch  and  a  half  toward  the  wall  of  the  temple.  This 
striking  circumstance,  believed  at  first  to  be  a  pecul- 
iarity of  the  Parthenon,  has  been  proved  by  Penrose, 
in  his  meritorious  work  on  the  Athenian  temples,  to 
exist  also  in  the  case  of  the  Temple  of  Theseus.  With 
a  view  to  the  investigation  of  this  point,  only  the  tem- 
ples of  Athens  have  as  yet  been  examined ;  it  is  re 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS. 


195 


Fragments. 


The  idol. 


served  for  future  admeasurements  of  the  older  Greek 
temples  to  show  whether  the  same  phenomenon  exists 
in  their  case,  or  was  an  invention  of  the  later  Attic- 
Doric  style.  This  much  is  certain,  however,  that  in 
later  times  it  was  a  universal  and  established  princi- 
ple in  the  construction  of  all  Greek  temples." 

We  are  within  the .  citadel  of  Athens,  in  the  midst 
of  scattered  fragments  of  the  noblest  works  of  man ; 
heaps  of  broken  cornices,  statues,  basso,  and  frieze, 


FRIEZE    OF   THE   PARTHENON. 


strewed  over  the  ground  as  if  the  gods  had  been  dash- 
ing to  pieces  their  own  temples  and  images,  or  rather 
as  if  the  great  God  had  swept  over  these  idols  with 
the  besom  of  destruction.  Within  this  temple,  when 
it  was  dedicated,  the  great  statue  of  Minerva,  made  of 
ivory  and  gold,  was  set  up.  Phidias,  the  prince  of 
sculptors,  had  the  superintendence  of  the  building  of 
the  temple  under  Pericles,  who  then  swayed  Athens 
with  his  eloquence ;  and  with  his  own  hands  he  fash- 
ioned the  idol,  which  surpassed  any  other  in  the  world 


196  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


On  the  Parthenon.  Heaps  of  bones. 

but  one — a  statue  of  Jupiter,  at  Glympia,  by  the 
same  artist.  I  sat  down  on  a  marble  fragment  in 
front  of  the  temple  and  mused  upon  the  present  and 
the  past.  Twenty-six  centuries  had  left  their  marks 
on  these  stones.  Under  one  corner,  in  a  pit,  was  a 
heap  of  bones,  perhaps  five  hundred  skulls,  with  other 
bones  of  slaughtered  Greeks,  who  fell  in  the  last  war 
with  the  Turks,  now  thrown  together  in  this  common 
grave.  Like  them  these  successive  generations  had 
been  wasted  away,  some  by  war,  some  by  famine  or 
pestilence,  for  death  never  wearies,  and  doubtless  all 
this  ground  has  once  lived  and  breathed.  Then  I 
clambered  up  the  broken  walls  (with  a  little  caution 
you  may  ascend  by  the  successive  tiers  of  stone  which 
are  left  in  then  fall  like  a  flight  of  steps)  till  I  gained 
the  entablature  over  the  front  of  the  temple.  Im- 
mense blocks  of  marble — it  seemed  to  me  we  never 
raise  such  masses  into  such  lofty  resting-places — were 
hanging  over  the  edge  of  the  wall,  or  reaching  across 
from  the  outer  to  the  inner  row  of  columns  ;  and  not 
contented  still,  I  pursued  my  way  up  to  the  highest 
of  the  marbles,  that  rests  on  the  very  crown  of  the. 
Parthenon.  And  then  the  tide  of  feeling,  restrained 
until  this  height  was  gained,  began  to  flow.  Greece 
was  all  around  me :  the  monuments  of  the  past,  the 
ruins  of  the  present,  Greece  in  her  glory  and  her  fall ; 
and  I  was  sad  as  the  Roman  who  wept  among  the 
ruins  of  the  city  his  fathers  had  destroyed. 

From  this  lofty  and  commanding  seat  let  us  take  a 
survey  of  the  scene.  All  that  we  have  read  in  the 
hi  story  and  poetry  of  Greece,  of  learning,  love,  war, 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS.  197 

Environs.  Plato. 

religion — all  that  can  stir  the  sensibilities  of  the  schol- 
ar, the  philosopher,  and  the  Christian,  are  elements  in 
the  prospect  that  lies  in  view.  Just  at  onr  feet  is  the 
modern  city  ;  but  here,  at  the  north  of  the  Acropolis — 
for  the  ancient  city  swept  all  around  the  hill — are  the 
more  celebrated  sites,  which  we  shall  soon  go  down 
and  examine  in  detail.  Now  admire  the  form  of  those 
blue  hills  that  lie  to  the  south  and  west  of  us. 
Those  swelling  domes  and  graceful  curves  were  the 
models  of  beauty  which  the  Grecian  architect  con- 
templated till  he  wrought  out  his  idea  afterward  in 
these  glorious  structures  which  we  have  in  vain  es- 
sayed to  imitate.  Yonder,  where  the  clouds  are  rest- 
ing now,  is  Mount  Pentelicus,  whose  snow-white  bo- 
som yielded  the  marble  on  which  we  are  sitting; 
there,  in  the  same  range,  is  Lycabettus ;  and  as  we 
come  around  to  the  eastward  is  Hymettus,  famed  for 
its  honey,  which  it  furnishes  to  this  day.-  And  off 
there,  in  the  east,  in  full  sight,  is  the  Bay  of  Salamis  ; 
and  across  the  water  is  Mount  iEgaleos,  the  scene  of 
the  naval  battle  where  Xerxes  saw  the  ruin  of  his 
fleet.  Nearer  by  is  a  gentle  rise  of  ground  crowned 
with  olive  groves.  It  is  the  hill 
Colonos,  where  was  once  a  temple 
of  Neptune.  And  that  grove  is 
Academus,  where  Plato  taught  his 
pupils  who  came  forth  from  the 
city — a  mile  perhaps — to  sit  at 
the  feet  of  the  great  master.  The 
grove  belonged  to  a  man  named 
Academus,  who  gave  it  for  the  use 


198 


EUliOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Academy. 


Greeks  and  Romans. 


of  Plato  to  deliver  liis  discourses,  and  hence  it  was 
called  Academia,  and  so  comes  our  word  Academy. 
Turn  again  and  pause  at  the  hill  of  the  museum  with  a 
ruined  tomb  on  the  top  of  it,  and  that  dark  spot  at  its 
base  is  the  door  of  the  dungeon  in  which  Socrates  died. 

But  we  will  now  descend  from  this  post  of  obser- 
vation. It  is  painfully  pleasing  to  linger  here.  Capi- 
toline  Hill  in  Home  did  not  afford  a  sight  like  this. 
Besides,  one  ancient  Greek  was  worth  half  a  dozen 
Romans ;  and  I  feel  the  same  degrees  of  veneration 
in  wandering  among  the  ruins  of  Italy  and  of  Greece. 

Within  the  Acropolis  are  the  ruins  of  another  tem- 
ple, the  Erechtheum,  reared  to  the  honor  of  Erech- 


£L= 


THE    ERECHTHEUM. 


ATHENS     AND     ITS    ENVIKONS. 


199 


Idolatry. 


Broken  marbles. 


theus,  who  founded  the  first  temple  of  Minerva  that 
was  built  on  this  hill.  It  contained  three  distinct  tem- 
ples, and  their  proportions  and  apartments  are  still 
preserved,  beautiful  fragments  of  a  noble  structure. 
We  entered  their  chambers  and  recognized  the  uses 
to  which  they  were  destined  in  the  worship  of  the  un- 
known God.  Six  fluted  columns,  of  the  Ionic  order, 
stand  in  the  pride  of  their  age,  as  perfect  as  if  chiseled 
yesterday;  and  the  Caryatides,  the  female  figures 
serving  as  pillars,  seemed  to  me  to 
be  wearied  of  standing  there  with 
a  weight  on  their  heads  for  twenty 
hundred  years.  We  spent  some  time 
in  looking  through  a  curious  gather- 
ing of  vases,  urns,  household  utensils, 
statuary,  marble  drapery,  hands,  feet, 
heads,  torsos,  models  of  all  time.  Casts 
of  them  have  been  taken  and  carried 
to  the  western  countries  for  the  in- 
struction of  artists ;  and  now  a  strict 
watch  is  kept,  lest  the  spoilers  of  old 
temples  carry  off  some  of  these.  It 
was  difficult  to  get  even  specimens  of 
the  marble. 

I  left  the  Acropolis,  but  to  come 
again  and  again ;  sometimes  in  com- 
pany of  friends,  and  sometimes  alone, 
when  one  enters  more  into  the  spirit 
of  a  scene  of  solemn  grandeur,  such 
as  lies  around  and  stands  above  him  when  he  en- 
ters the  citadel  of  ancient  Athens.     Across  a  plowed 


CARYATIDES. 


200        EUKOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Mars'  Hill.  Paul's  sermon. 

■field  we  picked  our  way,  a  walk  of  a  few  minutes 
only,  to  the  foot  of  Mars'  Hill.  Sixteen  steps  cut 
in  tlie  solid  rock  lead  us  to  a  hewn  platform  in  the 
same  rock,  where  sat  the  famous  council  of  the 
Areopagus.  In  the  darkness  of  night,  in  the  open 
air,  under  the  canopy  of  heaven,  where  they  could 
not  see  the  criminal  or  be  seen  themselves  except  by 
the  gods,  these  stern  old  judges  held  their  court  on 
this  hill  of  Mars.  Here  Socrates  was  tried  and  con- 
demned. Up  these  steps  the  great  Apostle  was  led, 
and  on  this  spot,  the  tribune  where  the  speaker  stood, 
we  suppose  Paul  was  standing  when  he  addressed  the 
men  of  Athens  in  that  majestic  discourse  which  assail- 
ed their  paganism,  and  unfolded  to  them  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  only  living  and  true  God.  Standing  as 
nearly  as  we  could  upon  the  spot  where  he  stood,  I 
opened  the  Bible  and  read  his  discourse,  delivered 
from  the  same  place  more  than  eighteen  hundred 
years  ago.  Several  friends,  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
had  joined  us  now,  and  a  little  group  stood  in  silence 
and  fixed  attention,  listening  to  the  words  of  the 
great  Apostle.  It  is  impossible  to  feel  the  full  force 
of  that  sermon  without  understanding  the  locality  in 
which  it  was  delivered.  Before  the  speaker  was  this 
Acropolis,  shining  with  the  splendor  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful temples,  and  enriched  with  the  most  costly 
shrines  the  world  ever  saw.  Around  him  lay  the 
proud  city  of  Athens,  with  all  its  learning  and  art, 
yet  plunged  in  the  gross  darkness  of  paganism ;  and 
no  wonder  that  the  spirit  of  the  Apostle  was  stirred 
to  point  to  these  temples,  and  with  his  trumpet-voice 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS. 


201 


Tomb  of  Socrates. 


I  lis  death. 


to  tell  them  that  the  Most  High  dwelleth  not  in  tem- 
ples made  with  hands.  We  compared  these  allusions 
in  his  discourse  with  the  objects  still  near  us,  and 
drew  new  lessons  from  the  illustrations  thus  forced 
upon  our  attention.  My  friends  urged  me  while  in 
Athens  to  preach  a  sermon  on  Mars'  Hill  to  the  En- 
glish residents,  but  I  confess  that  I  shrunk  from 
preaching  in  Paul's  pulpit. 

We  then  travelled  across  the  fields  to  the  hill,  in 
the  side  of  which  is  a  dungeon 
hewn  out  of  a  solid  rock,  and  tra- 
dition, without  any  dispute,  as- 
signs to  this  place  the  imprison- 
ment and  death  of  Socrates.  We 
entered  the  low  door  and  could 
barely  stand  upright  under  the 
vaulted  roof.  A  hole  in  the  top 
of  it  might  admit  air,  and  served 
also  for  the  introduction  of  food, 
which  the  keepers  could  let  down 
to  the  prisoner.  In  this  dungeon 
he  drank  the  hemlock,  and  died :  the  purest  of  hea- 
then philosophers,  and  a  man  whose  principles  make 
a  nearer  approach  to  the  religion  of  the  Bible,  than 
any  one's  who  has  lived  and  died  without  it. 

Leaving  the  dungeon  of  Socrates,  we  came  over  to 
the  Pnyx,  the  tribune  on  which  the  Grecian  orators 
stood  to  address  the  gathered  thousands  of  Athens. 
A  rock  had  been  smoothed  off  for  a  platform,  and  at 
its  base  was  a  wide  area,  which  may  have  been  in- 
closed within  a  wall :  but  here  in  the  open   air  the 

I* 


CCOKPATHC 

BUST   OF    SOCRATES. 


202        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Pnyx.  Curious  cure. 


,B- 


Tin;  p.nvx 


people  were  accustomed  to  listen  to  the  eloquence  of 
such  men  as  Demosthenes  and  Pericles,  and  to  decide 
by  a  popular  vote  those  great  questions  on  which  the 
fate  of  empires  hung. 

Demetrius  led  us  still  further  on  to  a  sloping  rock, 
worn  very  smooth,  and  we  are  told  that  the  Grecian 
ladies  were  accustomed  to  slide  down  this  inclined 
plane  on  their  backs,  as  a  certain  cure  for  sterility. 
Our  Greek  guide,  in  his  white  skirt,  showed  us  how 
the  slide  was  made,  by  performing  the  experiment. 
These  were  sights  enough  for  one  day.  For  many 
successive  days  they  were  continued.  Sometimes  we 
wandered  again  over  these  same  ruins  and  remains, 
meditating  in  this  sepulchre  of  a  dead  city,  and  over 
these  monuments  of  a  noble  and  departed  race. 

In  the  great  square  in  front  of  the  Capitol,  I  met  the 
King  and  Queen  riding  on  horseback,  and  dressed  in 
full  Greek  costume.  Otho,  son  of  the  old  king  of 
Bavaria,  has  a  strong  German  look,  which  his  cos- 
tume, adopted  to  please  the  Greeks,  does  not  conceal. 
They  were  attended  by  a  suite  of  half  a  dozen  gentle- 
men, and  were  out  for  an  airing  in  the  afternoon. 
The  King  is  not  popular.  He  is  a  foreigner;  the 
Greeks  arc  a  proud  people,  with  little  or  nothing  to 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS.  203 


Pride  of  the  peopie.  iiace-course. 

be  proud  of,  and  they  chafe  more  and  more  under  the 
idea  of  being  ruled  by  an  imported  prince.  If  they 
should  form  an  extensive  conspiracy  on  the  know-no- 
thing principle  of  American  nativism,  they  may  over- 
turn the  government  one  fine  morning.  Nothing  but 
English  and  French  influence  keeps  it  up  now,  and 
a  government  that  can  not  stand  alone,  is  not  likelv 
to  stand  long. 

The  next  day  Demetrius  led  us  out  of  the  city  to 
the  ancient  stadium,  or  race  course.  In  a  vale  with 
the  hills  rising  gently  on  both  sides,  where  spectators 
in  uncounted  thousands  might  sit  or  stand  and  survey 
the  contests,  we  found  the  evident  marks  of  the  old 
running  ground.  The  sloping  hillsides  were  once 
lined  with  white  marble  seats,  now  all  gone.  But 
here  the  chariots  and  horsemen  and  footmen  had  con- 
tended, after  months  of  training,  princes  not  disdain- 
ing} as  in  the  Olympic  games,  to  enter  the  lists,  if 
they  might  have  princes  for  their  competitors.  Two 
of  our  young  friends  pitted  themselves  against  one 
another,  and  set  off  to  perform  the  course,  but  broke 
down  and  gave  it  up  before  they  were  half-way 
around.  An  ancient  carriage-way  leads  up  by  a  tun- 
nel to  the  hill  above,  and  by  this  subterranean  pas- 
sage, when  the  race  was  over,  the  competitors  might 
retire. 

Nearer  to  the  city  is  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Olym- 
pus, the  greatest  building  that  was  ever  reared  in 
Athens.  It  was  begun  by  Pisistratus,  500  B.C.,  and 
never  completed  till  under  Hadrian,  A.D.  150.  And 
now  there  stands  a  host  of  unsupported  sixteen  Co- 


204        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST, 


Floor  of  the  temple. 


Fallen  column. 


TEMPI/G   OF   JUPITER   OLYMPUS. 


rinthian  columns,  perhaps  sixty  feet  high :  beautiful 
columns  they  are,  and  sublime  in  their  naked  grandeur. 
The  gathered  soil  of  twenty  centuries  has  been  re- 
moved, and  the  white  marble  floor  is  now  exj)osed  to 
the  light  of  heaven,  and  in  the  midst  of  those  perfect 
monuments  of  the  past,  we  trod  the  courts  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter,  as  the  worshippers  did  for  centimes 
before  Christ  was  born.  About  two  years  ago  one  of 
these  columns  fell,  and  now  lies  prone  ("  as  the  tree 
falleth  so  it  lieth")  in  fifteen  separate  blocks,  besides 
the  capital  and  pedestal — a  glorious  ruin — an  emblem 
of  Greece;  more  suggestive  as  it  lies  than  those  still 


ATHENS     AND     US     ENVIRONS. 


205 


Paganism  dies. 


Fountains  aiul  stre 


standing. 


A  Christian  must  rejoice  to  know  that  pa- 
ganism  dies   before    the  light 

of  revelation,  but  he  sighs  to 

think  that  these  beautiful  fab- 
rics of  art  are  destroyed,  never, 

never  to  be  built  again. 

But    these    hills,    and    the 

streams  and  fountains  are  the 

same!       Yes;     the    hills     of 

Greece  are  still  ours,  and  we    ] 

can  see  them  as  the  old  bards 

saw    them.       The    rivers    are 

either  dried  up  or  shrunk  away 

to   such   little  rills  that  they 

scarce  deserve  a  name.  And  when,  after  half  an  hour 
of  tiresome  walking,  we  found  the  fountain  of  Cal- 
lirhoe,  it  was  a  pool  of  muddy  water,  at  the  foot 
of  a  hill,  and  a  dozen  women  washing  clothes  in 
it.  Demetrius  picked  up  a  bar  of  soap  which  one 
of  them  had  lost  on  her  way,  and  restored  it  to  the 
owner.  Some  of  them  had  their  own  clothes  tucked 
up,  and  others  were  very  scantily  supplied  with  any ; 
and  the  contrast  was  a  sorry  one  with  the  nymphs 
who  haunted  the  spot  when  this  was  the  great  spring 
from  which  the  city  was  supplied. 

The  Ilissus,  which  rises  in  Hymettus  and  flows 
along  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  ancient  city,  sung 
by  poets,  and  once  the  stream  by  which  lovers  walked 
and  rested,  is  now  dried  up  a  part  of  the  year,  and  at 
others  a  rill  that  one  may  go  over  dry-shod. 

Returning  to  the   city  we    met   a  Greek  funeral. 


'20ij  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


In  the  market. 


The  body  was  exposed  to  view  in  a  rude  coffin.  Flow- 
ers were  strewed  over  it  and  arranged  about  the  head ; 
and  as  the  little  procession  moved  on,  the  priests  going 
before  kept  up  a  mournful  wail  which  was  considered 
singing.  Afterward  in  their  churches  I  heard  the 
same  tones  and  tunes,  if  such  they  may  be  called,  and 
had  but  a  poor  impression  of  the  present  state  of  sa- 
cred music  in  Greece. 

On  the  Porta  Agora,  one  of  the  ancient  gates, 
which  we  entered,  a  list  of  duties  to  be  paid  by  those 
bringing  articles  of  traffic  into  the  city  is  standing- 
there,  cut  in  the  old  Greek  letter,  in  the  granite,  just 
as  we  see  a  list  of  tolls  on  the  post  of  a  turnpike  gate. 
We  soon  found  ourselves  in  the  market ;  and  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  party  of  Americans  created  quite  a  sen- 
sation. I  was  making  notes  in  my  book,  and  the 
younger  people  crowded  closely  to  my  side  and  looked 
over  my  shoulder  to  observe  the  curious  characters 
which  I  made  ;  as  odd  to  them  as  would  be  Greek  let- 
ters to  us.  The  stands  were  loaded  with  various 
kinds  of  fruits,  which  they  urged  us  to  buy ;  and  we 
carried  off  a  supply  of  figs  and  raisins,  leaving  the 
dates  and  lemons,  pears,  pomegranates,  prunes,  and 
nuts  of  various  kinds,  the  names  of  which  I  did  not 
know.  Olives  are  raised  in  great  abundance.  They 
are  an  oily  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  large  acorn,  and 
are  in  high  favor  in  the  East  generally  as  an  article 
of  food,  as  well  as  for  the  manufacture  of  oil.  The 
tree  is  also  used  for  fuel  more  than  any  other,  being- 
sold  for  that  purpose  by  the  pound,  as  coal  is  with  us  ; 
and  for  Imiklinc:  it  is  one  of  the  most  durable   kinds 


ATHENS     AND  ITS     ENVIRONS.  207 


Old  olive-trees.  Hide  in  the  country. 

of  wood.  Without  paint,  and  exposed  to  all  weath- 
ers, it  will  last  some  centuries.  The  olive-tree  lives 
longer  than  any  other  that  is  known ;  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  two  thousand  years  are  affirmed  of  some,  so 
that  it  is  not  impossible  that  some  of  the  trees  now 
on  the  Mount  of  Olives  in  Palestine  are  the  same  that 
Jesus  saw,  and  there  may  be  in  these  groves  about 
Athens  some  that  have  shaded  Aristotle  and  his  pupils 
when  high  philosophy  was  the  theme  of  their  discourse. 
With  the  friends  whom  I  met  and  made  in  Athens, 
I  rode  out  to  the  grove  of  Academus,  and  along  the 
banks  of  the  Cephissus,  the  largest  river  in  Attica, 
rising  in  Mount  Pentelicus  and  flowing  along  the  west 
of  Athens  into  the  Saronic  gulf,  near  Phalerum.  And 
then  we  gave  another  day  to  Eleusis,  where  the  tem- 
ple of  Ceres  stood,  and  the  celebrated  but  hidden 
Eleusinian  mysteries  were  performed.  This  ride  took 
us  along  the  shores  of  Salamis,  and  every  foot  of  the 
ground  we  passed  was  classic  in  the  history  of  war  or 
religion.  We  called  on  our  way  at  an  old  monastery 
fitted  up  from  the  remains  of  a  pagan  temple,  and  I 
thought  that  no  great  improvement  upon  the  heathen- 
ism of  the  ancient  Greeks  would  be  made  by  the  mod- 
erns, who  turn  a  temple  of  one  form  of  idolatry,  into  a 
school  of  another.  A  wretched  village  we  found  at 
Eleusis.  From  the  little  hovels  large  families  of  half- 
clad  men,  women,  and  children,  came  out  to  see  us, 
and  babes  in  the  arms  of  their  mothers  would  put  out 
their  hands  for  alms.  The  men  were  hanging  around 
as  if  they  had  nothing  to  do,  and  the  women  were 
busy  at  their  work  ;   one  very  pretty  Greek  girl  with 


208  EUliUPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Boys  all  over.  Spinning  street-yam. 

an  embroidered  black  waist  above  a  white  skirt,  might 
have  claimed  to  be  a  descendant  of  some  of  the  Gre- 
cian models.  We  walked  up  the  Sacra  Via,  to  the 
Acropolis  where  the  temple  stood,  and  found  the  bro- 
ken columns  and  capitals  only,  as  the  memorial  of 
what  had  been.  But  here  we  had  a  beautiful  view  of 
the  Bay  of  Salamis  and  Mount  iEgaleos,  and  the  wide- 
spread plains  of  Eleusis,  whose  abundant  harvests  were 
the  witnesses  of  the  care  which  Ceres  took  of  the  re- 
gion where  her  altars  were  honored. 

As  we  drove  off  from  the  village  the  boys  jumped 
up  on  the  carriage  behind  to  catch  a  ride,  and  those 
who  could  not,  cried  out  to  the  coachman  to  "  cut  be- 
hind," as  boys  do  all  the  world  over,  I  believe.  It  was 
so  much  like  what  we  see  at  home,  that  the  boys  ac- 
tually received  applause  for  their  stolen  fun.  We  were 
now  out  in  the  country,  some  hours  from  Athens. 
We  met  the  peasantry  on  foot  or  riding  on  donkeys, 
apparently  wretchedly  poor,  a  blanket  sometimes 
drawn  over  their  head  and  shoulders.  The  shep- 
herds, with  their  crooks  in  hand,  were  tending  their 
flocks,  but  the  whole  appearance  of  the  region  through 
which  we  rode  was  that  of  neglected  agriculture  and 
general  shiftlessness.  In  the  city  I  looked  in  where 
the  women  were  weaving  on  hand-looms,  as  no  facto- 
ries driven  by  water  or  steam  have  yet  been  intro- 
duced. They  spin  from  the  old  distaff,  and  here,  as 
in  Germany  and  Italy,  we  sometimes  saw  women 
walking  in  the  streets,  or  standing  at  a  neighbor's 
door,  and  spinning  all  the  while,  a  practice  from 
which  comes  the  expression  of  "spinning  street-yarn," 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS.  209 

Tower  of  the  Winds.  The  future. 

meaning  "gadding  about."  The  people  are  not  much 
more  than  half-civilized ;  yet  to  see  the  men  strutting 
along  in  their  kilts  and  tarbouches  like  turkey-cocks, 
they  might  be  thought,  as  indeed  they  are,  the  proud- 
est people  in  the  world. 

One  of  the  most  curious  of  the  antiquities  of  Athens 
is  the  Tower  of  the  Winds,  in  the  midst  of  the  city. 
It  was  built  to  show  the  direction  of  the  wind :  the 
form  of  the  stone  tower  is  an  octagon,  and  in  each  one 

of  the  sides  is  the  

name  and  an  em-  F~^  BOFEA'S 
blematical  form  of 
the  wind  that  blows 
from  the  direction 
indicated.  Boreas, 
withhishugebeard, 
is  blowing  fiercely ; 
the  Northeast  is  a     j  boreas.  j 

fairer  form,  dispens- 
ing the  olive ;  the  East  wind  comes  with  other  fruits 
— not  so  with  us;   the  South  threatens  to  pour  out 
torrents  of  rain,  and  the  beautiful  Zephyr  strews  the 
land  with  flowers. 

The  future  of  Greece  is  very  uncertain.  Weak  and 
corrupt,  the  present  government  has  no  elements  of 
progress,  and  may  speedily  be  set  aside  for  political 
reasons  by  those  who  now  support  it,  or  be  over- 
turned by  the  restless  people  themselves.  The  sym- 
pathies of  Otho  and  his  court  have  been  with  the 
Russians  in  the  late  war  of  the  East,  and  the  insur- 
rection of  the  Greek  provinces  of  Turkey  was  fostered. 


210        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

English  -writer's  view.  Corruption. 

if  not  directly  supported  by  this  government.  The 
most  hopeful  indication  is  seen  in  the  willingness  of 
the  church  and  state  to  have  the  Bible  read  in  all  the 
schools,  thus  introducing  principles  into  the  minds  of 
the  young  which  may  make  them  better  citizens  of 
some  better  government  that  may  succeed  the  present. 
An  English  writer  in  a  recent  work  on  this  country, 
says:  "From  all  that  I  have  seen  or  read  or  heard 
among  persons  of  different  nations,  stations,  and  prin- 
ciples, the  present  government  of  Greece  seems  to  be 
about  the  most  inefficient,  corrupt,  and,  above  all,  con- 
temptible, with  which  a  nation  was  ever  cursed.  The 
constitution  is  so  worked  as  to  be  constantly  and  fla- 
grantly evaded  or  violated ;  the  liberty  of  election  is 
shamefully  infringed;  and  where  no  overt  bribery  or 
intimidation  is  employed — charges  from  which  we  En- 
glishmen can,  I  fear,  by  no  means  make  out  an  ex- 
emption— the  absence  of  the  voters,  who  regard  the 
whole  process  as  a  mockery,  is  compensated  by  the 
electoral  boxes  being  rilled  with  voting-papers  by  the 
gensdarmerie — a  height  of  impudence  to  which  we 
have  not  yet  soared.  Persons  the  most  discredited 
by  their  characters  and  antecedents  are  forced  on  the 
reluctant  constituencies,  and  even  occasionally  ad- 
vanced to  places  of  high  trust  and  dignity.  The 
absence  of  legislative  checks  is  not  atoned  for  by  the 
vigor  of  the  executive  in  promoting  public  improve- 
ments. Agriculture  stagnates ;  manufactures  do  not 
exist;  the  communications,  except  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  capital,  where  they  are  good,  are 
deplorable  :  the  provinces — and  here  I  can  hardly  ex- 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIEONS.  211 

Sunday  in  Athens.  Greek  church. 

cept  the  neighborhood  of  the  capital — teem  with  rob- 
bers. The  navy,  for  which  the  aptitude  of  the  people 
is  remarkable,  consists  of  one  vessel :  the  public  debt 
is  not  paid :  an  offer  by  a  company  of  respectable  in- 
dividuals to  institute  a  steam  navigation,  for  which 
the  seas  and  shores  of  Greece  offer  such  innumerable 
facilities,  was  declined  at  the  very  period  of  my  visit, 
because  it  was  apprehended  that  it  would  be  unpalata- 
ble to  Austria.  Bitter  indeed  is  the  disappointment 
of  those  who  formed  bright  auguries  for  the  future 
career  of  regenerate  Greece,  and  made  generous  sacri- 
fices in  her  once  august  and  honored  cause.  Yet  the 
feeling  so  natural  to  them,  so  difficult  to  avoid  for  us 
all,  should  still  stop  far  short  of  despair. " 

Let  us  look  at  what  is  done  for  the  moral  improve- 
ment of  this  people.  A  Sunday  in  Athens  will  give 
us  the  picture. 

The  services  in  the  Greek  churches  are  usually 
held  at  a  very  early  hour  of  the  day — often  at  seven  in 
the  morning ;  but  on  this  day  there  was  to  be  a  spe- 
cial service  in  honor  of  some  dead  saint,  and  it  began 
later.  We  went  at  nine,  and  the  sermon  was  already 
begun.  It  was  the  church  of  St.  Irene,  and  there 
was  some  reason  to  expect  the  King  to  be  present. 
He  is  a  Roman  Catholic.  The  Queen  is  a  Lutheran, 
and  their  children,  if  they  have  any,  are  to  be  edu- 
cated in  the  Greek  faith.  The  King  has  the  services 
of  his  church  in  the  Royal  Chapel ;  the  Queen  has 
hers  in  the  same  place,  and  they  both  attend  the 
Greek  church.  To-day  they  did  not  come.  But  the 
house   was   very   full.     The   people  do  not   sit;  but 


212  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Men  and  women.  Modern  Greek. 

stand  around  generally ;  and  the  singular  variety  of 
costume,  Eastern  and  Western,  and  a  mixture  of 
both,  gives  a  motley  yet  picturesque  appearance  to 
the  assembly.  The  poor,  in  their  shaggy  coats  and 
dirty  leggins,  stand  close  by  the  gayly-dressed  Greek 
dandies,  proud  of  their  white  kilts,  red  stockings,  and 
dark  laced  jacket,  all  surmounted  by  a  red  cap  and 
long  tassel.  The  women  are  not  allowed  in  the  body 
of  the  church ;  they  are  standing  up  there  in  the  gal- 
lery, looking  wistfully  down,  and  now  and  then  the 
men  are  looking  wistfully  up.  A  priest  in  the  pul- 
pit is  preaching  earnestly  in  the  Greek  tongue,  hold- 
ing his  sermon  in  his  hand  and  reading  it,  with  ani- 
mated gesture  and  a  good  voice,  while  the  people 
stand  close  around  him,  and  give  fixed  attention  to 
his  words.  The  language  is  smooth,  and  comes  fluent- 
ly from  his  lips ;  but  with  an  accent  so  different  from 
the  ancient  Greek,  as  we  pronounce  it,  that  I  can 
catch  only  here  and  there  a  word.  The  moderns 
make  no  distinction  between  the  long  and  short  o  or 
c,  when  the  accent  comes  on  another  vowel  in  the 
word,  and  this  completely  changes  the  sound  of  all 
the  prominent  words  in  the  sentence. 

We  stood  for  half  an  hour,  and  as  the  preaching- 
was  all  Greek  to  us,  we  looked  about  at  the  pictures, 
which  were  meant  to  adorn  the  church,  and  perhaps 
excite  the  devotions  of  the  people.  More  conspicuous 
than  any  other  was  one  of  the  Trinity,  in  which  the 
Father  was  painted  as  a  venerable  man  with  a  long 
white  beard,  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a  dove  hovering  be- 
neath him,  and  over  the  head  of  the  Son.      The  Virgin 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENVIRONS.  213 


Church  music.  Dr.  King's  house. 

Mary  was  very  well  drawn  on  another  picture,  and 
then  came  saints,  male  and  female,  to  whom  I  had  no 
introduction,  and  could  not  learn  then  names.  After 
the  sermon  a  doleful  wail  was  set  up  by  a  few  men 
near  the  altar,  or  where  the  altar  would  be  in  a  Komish 
church ;  probably  it  was  supposed  to  be  singing,  but 
such  a  groaning  and  grating  sound  I  had  never  heard 
under  the  name  of  music.  It  was  continued  until  to 
hear  it  was  intolerable.  A  company  of  gorgeously 
robed  priests,  in  a  room  partitioned  from  the  church, 
and  which  might  be  the  holy  of  holies,  now  marched 
around  a  table,  bearing  lighted  candles,  and  bowing  as 
they  passed  before  an  image  of  the  Saviour  crucified. 
This  was  prolonged  until  we  were  sick  and  tired  of 
seeing  it,  and  we  came  away.  The  streets  were  as 
full  of  people  as  the  church  had  been.  Many  of  the 
shops  were  open,  although  the  law  requires  them  to 
be  shut  during  hours  of  service  on  Sunday — a  sort  of 
license  to  have  them  open  the  rest  of  the  day. 

We  walked  up  a  narrow  lane,  and  knocked  hard 
upon  a  small  gate  in  a  high  stone  wall,  which  was 
immediately  opened,  and  found  ourselves  in  the  gar- 
den before  the  humble  residence  of  Dr.  King.  On 
another  side  of  his  inclosure  he  has  a  chapel,  where 
he  formerly  held  public  worship  on  Sunday ;  but  he 
thinks  it  more  prudent  to  have  it  now  in  his  own 
house.  In  a  long  room  on  the  ground  floor  we  found 
a  company  of  thirty  or  forty  Greeks  assembled,  chief- 
ly men  ;  some  of  the  members  of  the  University,  one 
or  two  of  them  occupying  positions  of  influence  in  the 
city  :  several  females  well  dressed,  and  all  sitting  with 


214  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Service.  The  people. 

apparent  solemnity  and  earnest  attention.  Dr.  King- 
rose,  and  all  stood  Tip  while  he  offered  prayer.  It  was 
short,  solemn,  in  a  soft  and  pleasing  tone  of  voice 
that  answered  well  to  the  state  of  feeling  in  the  room. 
Then  he  read  a  portion  of  Scripture  from  the  New 
Testament.  Holding  the  book  in  my  hand,  I  was 
now  able  to  follow  him,  and  to  watch  the  counte- 
nances of  those  who  heard.  It  was  an  impressive 
portion,  embracing  several  of  the  parables  of  our  Lord, 
the  marriage  supper  and  the  talents,  and  was  heard 
with  great  interest  by  the  whole  assembly.  He  then 
named  his  text — "And  the  door  was  shut;"  from 
which  he  presented  the  necessity  of  immediate  exer- 
tion to  gain  admission  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
His  manner  was  earnest,  and  often  very  impressive, 
as  he  pronounced  in  that  most  mellifluous  of  all 
tongues,  the  words  of  life.  A  fine-looking  young  man, 
sitting  immediately  in  front  of  the  speaker,  was  greatly 
moved.  At  one  time  I  thought  he  would  start  from 
his  seat  and  ask  the  preacher  to  take  him  by  the  hand 
and  lead  him  in.  Dr.  King  has  so  long  been  accus- 
tomed to  the  Eastern  modes  of  thought  and  expres- 
sion, that  he  has  a  happy  facility  in  illustration  which 
renders  his  addresses  at  once  intelligible  and  interest- 
ing. In  the  midst  of  his  discourse  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  army,  in  full  military  dress,  entered,  and  de- 
clining the  offer  of  a  chair,  stood  with  fixed  eye  till 
the  service  was  concluded.  After  sermon  was  a  prayer 
and  the  benediction,  when  the  company  retired  with 
decorum  and  solemnity,  as  it  appeared  to  me  im- 
pressed with  what  they  had  heard.     It  was  decidedly 


ATHENS     AND     ITS     ENYLRONS.  215 

A  striking  scene.  Lovely  sight. 

a  missionary  scene.  The  strange  costumes,  the  for- 
eign tongue,  the  singular  manners,  all  brought  before 
me  the  sight  I  had  so  long  desired  to  see ;  and  it  was 
a  special  gratification  to  me  that  the  first  scene  of  the 
kind  met  me  in  Greece,  and  under  the  preaching  of 
this  venerable  man  of  God,  who  has  suffered  so  much 
for  Christ's  sake,  and  whose  name  is  so  dear  to  the 
churches  in  his  own  land.  To  be  in  Athens  is  an 
event  in  any  man's  life ;  but  to  hear  Jonas  King 
preaching  the  Gospel  at  the  foot  of  Mars'  Hill  is  a 
joy  to  be  cherished  in  memory  even  in  heaven.  And 
there  was  another  scene,  less  imposing,  but  not  less 
interesting,  that  followed  this  public  service.  In  a 
small  room  adjoining  the  one  in  which  we  had  been 
assembled,  I  found  a  young  lady,  the  daughter  of  Dr. 
King,  seated  on  a  low  bench,  and  a  group  of  Greek 
children  sitting  in  a  circle  around  her,  each  with  a 
Bible  in  hand,  while  they  repeated  to  her  the  pas- 
sages they  had  committed  to  memory,  and  answered 
promptly  the  inquiries  she  made  respecting  the  his- 
tory they  had  read.  As  she  put  her  arm  around  each 
one  that  came  and  stood  by  her  side,  and  with  sweet, 
gentle  words  of  kindness  told  them  stories  of  this  old 
book,  to  which  they  listened  eagerly,  as  if  it  were  a 
treat  to  them  to  be  there,  it  seemed  to  me  that  here 
was  the  loveliest  spirit  of  religion  at  work  in  the  love- 
liest way.  Of  such  is  the  kingdom — I  mean  such 
teachers  as  well  as  children. 

But  the  Sabbath  was  not  yet  past.  The  mission- 
ary friends  in  Athens  had  desired  me  to  preach  for 
them  during  my  visit  here,   and  arrangements  were 


21(5  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Rev.  Dr.  Hill.  Baptist  missiou. 

made  for  an  evening  service  at  the  house  of  Dr.  King. 
There  were  gathered  the  missionaries  of  the  Baptist 
church,  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  of  the  American 
Board  and  their  families,  with  the  Chaplain  of  the 
British  Legation  at  Constantinople,  the  British  Yice 
Consul,  and  a  few  others,  filling  the  room.  Among 
my  hearers  this  evening  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hill,  a 
clergyman  of  the  American  Episcopal  church,  who 
has  "been  a  missionary  here  in  Athens  for  many 
years.  At  his  invitation  I  visited  him  the  next  day, 
and  found  that  he  with  his  excellent  wife,  and  the  cele- 
brated Miss  Elizabeth  Condaxaki,  of  Crete,  and  several 
accomplished  ladies  as  their  assistants,  are  carrying 
on  the  work  of  education  with  great  efficiency,  having 
three  hundred  pupils  under  their  daily  instruction. 
They  are  also  engaged  in  the  translation  of  good 
books,  which,  by  the  means  of  their  large  school 
..ad  extensive  intercourse  with  the  people,  they  arc 
able  to  circulate  with  every  prospect  of  wide  and  per- 
manent usefulness.  At  Dr.  Hill's  house,  in  a  social 
evening  with  a  party  of  invited  friends,  I  met  several 
native  Greek  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  education  and 
cultivated  manners,  and  had  free  conversation  with 
them  on  the  state  and  prospects  of  their  country. 

The  Baptists  have  also  a  mission  here.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Arnold  at  Athens,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Buel  at  the  Piraeus,  are  faithfully  prosecu- 
ting their  important  labors. 

With  the  families  of  these  missionaries  I  spent  sev- 
eral delightful  days ;  short  while  they  were  passing, 
but  not  soon  to  be  forgotten. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

ASIA     MINOR SMYRNA. 

Leaving  Greece — The  "Maid  of  Athens" — Mrs.  Black  and  her 
Daughter — Syra — Bay  of  Smyrna — The  City — Mixed  Population 
— Mount  Pagus — Polycarp — Camels — Bazaars — Trade — Homer — 
Seven  Churches  of  Asia — American  Missionaries — Bobbers  in  the 
Mountains — Hamals  or  Porters. 

The  missionaries  and  their  families  accompanied 
us  to  the  harbor,  when  we  finally  tore  ourselves  away 
from  Athens.  At  the  Piraeus  we  called  with  Dr. 
King  upon  Mrs.  Black,  the  lady  who,  in  her  youth, 
was  the  original  of  Byron's  "If aid  of  Athens"  She 
received  us  with  great  courtesy,  and  we  were  intro- 
duced by  Dr.  King,  who  performed  the  marriage  cer- 
emony uniting  her  to  Mr.  Black,  a  British  subject, 
and  at  one  time  holding  the  office  of  Consul  at  Athens. 
Her  daughter  gave  us,  in  her  youthful  beauty,  a  bet- 
ter idea  of  what  the  mother  was  when  the  poet  ad- 
dressed her  than  we  should  have  had,  if  this  young- 
lady  had  not  risen  from  a  couch  to  which  she  was 
confined  by  illness,  and  suffered  herself  to  be  present- 
ed. From  this  interesting  family  we  hastened  to  the 
wharf,  and  were  taken  off  in  a  row-boat  to  the  steam- 
er, waiting  at  anchor.  Not  till  we  were  on  the  deck 
of  the  steamer  would  our  dear  friends,  Dr.  King  and 
his  family,  leave  us.  Then  with  many  tears  and 
Vol.  II.  —  K 


218  EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

At  sea  again.  Landing  at  Smyrna. 

prayers  we  parted ;  they  to  return  to  their  home  and 
their  work,  we  to  pursue  our  journey. 

The  next  morning  we  found  ourselves  again  at  Syra, 
where  we  were  transferred  to  another  steamer  bound 
to  Smyrna.  A  terrible  storm  arose  and  tossed  us 
about  for  two  or  three  days  among  the  Cyclades,  till 
we  were  all  sea-sick  and  home-sick,  and  sick  of  every 
thing. 

The  barren  coasts  of  Asia  were  off  at  our  left  on 
Sunday  morning,  December  11 ;  and  at  length,  far 
ahead  of  us,  we  descried  the  domes  of  Smyrna. 

The  approach  to  Smyrna  gives  promise  of  a  splen- 
did city.  The  site  was  suggested  to  Alexander  the 
Great  in  a  dream,  it  is  said  by  an  old  tradition ;  but 
if  he  had  any  thing  to  do  with  it,  he  was  probably 
wide  awake  when  he  made  choice  of  the  spot,  at  the 
head  of  a  noble  and  beautiful  bay,  more  than  thirty 
miles  long,  and  from  five  to  fifteen  across.  Tempest- 
tossed  and  worn  with  the  sickness  of  the  sea,  it  was 
a  comfort  not  to  be  forgotten  when  we  set  foot  on  the 
wharf.  But  in  what  country  we  were  it  was  hard  to 
tell.  All  sorts  of  costumes  were  around  us  ;  the  tur- 
baned  Turk,  the  kilted  Greek,  and  the  European  dress 
of  the  French,  more  abundant  there  than  any  other ; 
with  flaunting  signs  of  coffee-houses  in  English, 
French,  and  Turkish,  and  as  many  languages  ringing 
in  our  ears  from  men  who  would  take  us  to  a  good 
hotel  or  show  us  the  wonders  of  the  town. 

The  fires  that  have  swept  off  many  of  its  old  and 
wretched  quarters  have  opened  the  way  for  new  streets, 
well  laid  out,  and  houses  that  present  as  good  an  ap- 


ASIA 

MI  NO  It  —  SMYRNA. 

219 

Mount  Pagus. 

Polycarp. 

pearance  as  those  we  meet  with  in  many  European 
cities.  But  the  mixture  of  people  makes  a  variety 
in  the  style  of  houses  and  streets  as  marked  as  that 
of  the  dress.  Smyrna  has  150,000  people  in  it,  and 
80,000  of  these  are  Turks,  40,000  are  Greeks,  15,000 
Jews,  10,000  Armenians,  and  5000  Franks.  They 
have  separate  quarters  of  the  town  to  themselves,  and 
we  wandered  around  them  to  see  the  way  they  live. 

Overlooking  the  city  is  Mount  Pagus,  on  which  the 
castle  was  erected,  called,  as  in  most  of  the  Greek 
cities,  the  Acropolis,  now  in  ruins.  Within  it  are  the 
relics  of  a  temple  reared  to  Jupiter.  On  the  same 
hilltop  may  have  been  the  site  of  the  church  of 
Smyrna,  one  of  the  "  Seven  churches  of  Asia ;"  not 
probable  however,  though  there  is  little  doubt  that  in 
this  hollow,  a  short  distance  below  the  castle,  the  aged 
Polycaep  suffered  martyrdom,  A.D.  166,  and  here  is 
his  sepulchre  unto  this  day.  He  was  for  more  than 
eighty  years  pastor  of  the  church  of  Smyrna.  "  The 
persecution  under  Antoninus  growing  violent  in  that 
city,  a  general  outcry  was  raised  for  the  blood  of 
Polycarp.  On  this  he  withdrew  privately  into  a 
neighboring  village,  where  he  lay  concealed  for  some 
time,  continuing  night  and  day  in  prayer  for  the 
peace  of  the  Church.  The  most  diligent  search  was, 
in  the  mean  time,  made  for  him  without  effect.  But 
when  his  enemies  proceeded  to  put  some  of  his  breth- 
ren to  the  torture,  with  the  view  of  compelling  them 
to  betray  him,  he  could  no  longer  remain  concealed. 
'  The  Lord's  will  be  done,'  was  his  ejaculation ;  on 
which  he  made  a  surrender  of  himself  to  his  enemies, 


220  EUROPE     AND     THE    EAST. 


Martyrdom.  Massacres. 

saluting  them  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  invit- 
ing them  to  refresh  themselves  at  his  table,  only  solic- 
iting one  hour  for  prayer.  His  request  was  granted, 
and  his  devotions  were  prolonged  to  double  that  period, 
with  such  sweetness  and  fervor,  that  all  who  heard 
him  were  struck  with  admiration,  and  the  soldiers  re- 
pented of  their  errand.  Having  ended  his  prayer,  he 
was  placed  on  an  ass  and  was  conveyed  to  the  place 
of  judgment.  He  was  met  on  the  way  by  one  of  the 
magistrates,  who  took  him  into  his  carriage  and  tried 
to  persuade  him  to  abjure  his  profession  ;  but  he  was 
unyielding.  On  his  approaching  the  place  of  execu- 
tion the  proconsul,  ashamed  of  putting  to  death  so 
aged  and  venerable  a  man,  urged  him  to  blaspheme 
Christ/'  It  was  then  that  he  made  the  memorable  an- 
swer, "Eighty-six  years  have  I  served  him,  during 
all  which  time  he  never  did  me  injury  ;  how  then  can 
I  blaspheme  my  King  and  my  Saviour?"  When 
further  urged,  his  answer  was,  "I  am  a  Christian." 
When  threatened  with  wild  beasts,  he  said,  "Bring 
them  forth" — when  with  fire,  he  reminded  them  of 
the  eternal  fire  that  awaited  the  ungodly.  He  died  at 
the  stake,  uttering  the  words  of  praise  rather  than  of 
prayer. 

With  Polycarp  several  Christians  from  Philadelphia 
suffered.  Again  and  again  in  successive  centuries 
this  hillside  has  been  reddened  with  the  blood  of 
martyrs.  At  one  time,  in  1770,  the  Moslems  com- 
menced a  general  massacre  of  Christians,  and  fifteen 
hundred  were  put  to  death.  So  in  1822,  when  the 
isle  of  Scio  was  the  scene  of  butchery,  eight  hundred 


ASIA     MINOR  —  SMYRNA.  221 

Caravans.  Bazaars. 

Greek  Christians  were  slaughtered  near  the  scene  of 
Polycarp's  martyrdom. 

The  most  decided  mark  of  Orientalism  was  the 
troop  of  camels  coming  into  the  city  from  the  inte- 
rior, with  their  burdens  so  broad  as  to  fill  the  narrow 
streets,  and  to  make  the  walking  difficult,  if  not  dan- 
gerous. I  counted  forty  of  them  in  half  an  hour,  and 
then  coming  upon  a  hundred  in  one  square,  gave  up 
counting.  They  walked  in  single  file,  six  of  them 
usually  tied  together;  and  the  first  one,  the  most 
venerable,  being  tied  to  a  donkey,  on  which  a  man 
was  riding  as  the  guide  of  the  rest.  These  camels 
moved  on  with  a  solemn,  meditative  pace,  now  and 
then  making  a  shrieking  kind  of  noise,  but  rarely ; 
rather  looking  like  the  connecting  link  between  the 
animal  and  machine;  called,  indeed,  the  "  ships  of  the 
desert ;"  but  their  rate  of  travel,  not  over  three  miles 
an  hour,  hardly  justifies  that  title.  Patient,  however, 
and  powerful  to  bear  burdens  and  thirst,  they  are 
wisely  made  for  travel  and  transport  where  no  other 
means  of  conveyance  are  available. 

The  Bazaars  display  rich  and  costly  goods  in  great 
variety ;  much  of  Oriental  fabric,  shawls,  carpets,  caps, 
and  scarfs,  and  thousands  of  things  that  come  from 
Paris  and  London,  showing  the  gradual,  and  now  the 
rapid  progress  which  Western  civilization  is  making 
in  the  East.  When  a  fire  lays  waste  a  part  of  the 
town,  it  is  rebuilt  in  the  Western  more  than  in  the 
Eastern  style ;  and  with  the  use  of  European  dwell- 
ings all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  a  more  refined 
mode  of  life  must  follow.    These  Bazaars  are  covered 


222        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Buying  and  selling.  Figs.  Homer. 

streets,  and  the  stores  are  small  apartments,  perhaps 
ten  feet  square,  in  the  centre  of  which  the  merchant 
sits,  smoking  his  long  pipe,  and  quite  indifferent 
whether  you  buy  or  not.  The  customers  stand  in  the 
street  and  examine  the  goods  as  they  are  laid  on  a 
counter  at  the  edge  of  the  walk.  Generally  the  price 
asked  is  one  third  more  than  the  sum  to  be  paid,  and 
sometimes  the  offer  of  half  price  makes  a  bargain. 
The  trade  of  Smyrna  is  very  great,  especially  in 
fruits,  being  the  natural  outlet  of  Asia  Minor,  one  of 
the  finest  fruit  countries  in  the  world.  The  camels 
bring  in  the  ripe  figs,  which  are  picked  and  packed 
by  women  and  children  in  drums  and  boxes,  hastened 
on  shipboard,  and  then  commence  the  races  across  the 
seas  ;  a  prize  of  $150  being  paid  in  London  to  the 
captain  who  arrives  with  the  first  vessel,  and  a  much 
greater  prize  being  won  in  the  market  by  the  vessel 
that  arrives  first  in  New  York  after  the  fruit  crop 
comes  in.  Smyrna  is  celebrated  for  its  figs,  but  the 
market  was  better  supplied  with  almost  all  other  kinds 
of  Oriental  fruit  than  figs  when  we  were  there,  this 
having  been  a  very  poor  season  for  them,  as  we  were 
told. 

The  scholar  is  interested  in  Smyrna  as  the  reputed 
birth-place  of  Homer — for  this  is  one  of  those  of 
which  it  is  said, 

"  Seven  cities  claimed  the  Homer  dead, 
Through  which  the  living  Homer  hegged  his  bread." 

The  ancients  celebrated  it  under  the  names  of  the 
lovely,  the  crown  of  Ionia,  the  ornament  of  Asia ;  and 


ASIA     MINOR  —  SMYRNA.  223 

Seven  churches  of  Asia. 

the  moderns  have  pronounced  it  comparable  in  sit- 
uation to  Naples  itself.  I  sought  it  as  the  spot 
where  my  great  namesake  studied  in  the  school  of 
Polycarp,  who  sat  at  the  feet  of  St.  John.  But 
the  chief  interest  in  Smyrna  which  the  Christian 
traveller  finds,  is  in  the  fact  that  here  was  one  of 
the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  of  which  mention  is  made 
by  St.  John  in  the  Apocalypse,  the  others  being  in 
the  same  region,  and  accessible  by  journeys  of  a 
few  successive  hours.  JZphesiis,  where  John  re^ 
sided,  is  only  twelve  Lours  off,  and  near  the  coast ; 
but  the  ruins  of  the  great  temple  of  Diana  of  the 
Ephesians,  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world, 
are  no  longer  to  be  seen;  even  the  site  is  not  to  be 
pointed  out.  It  was  burnt  by  an  incendiary,  who 
wished  to  make  his  name  immortal  in  connection  with 
the  ruin  of  such  a  temple.  The  wild  beast  prowls 
now  where  once  was  the  most  splendid  edifice  of  its 
time  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Xaodicea,  another  of 
the  seven,  is  now  deserted,  though  the  ruins  of  tem- 
ples and  theatres  plainly  mark  the  site.  Philadel- 
jphia  has  three  thousand  houses,  and  is  the  residence 
of  the  Greek  bishop.  Sardis  consists  of  a  few  shep- 
herds' huts,  and  a  mill  on  the  river  Pactolus,  whose 
golden  sands  were  once  so  famed.  Thyatira  is  full 
of  ruins ;  the  mouths  of  the  wells  are  made  of  the 
capitals  of  beautiful  columns,  and  the  streets  in  many 
parts  are  paved  with  fragments  of  carved  stone,  relics 
of  the  ancient  city.  jPergamos  is  a  magnificent  tomb 
of  former  greatness  ;  arches  half  buried,  and  columns 
in  the  sand,  are  the  mournful  memorials  of  the  place 


224  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Prophecy  fulfilled.  Missionaries. 

where  the  faithful  martyr  Antipas  suffered,  and  where 
Satan's  seat  was  when  the  Apostle  John  wrote  his 
letters  to  the  seven  churches. 

Smyrna  is  the  only  one  of  the  seven  cities  that  con- 
tinues to  be  a  place  of  any  importance.  And  even 
Smyrna  of  the  present  is  not  on  the  site  of  the  former. 
It  is  hard  to  make  it  a  fact  that  time  can  work  such 
changes,  so  that  places  which  knew  these  vast  cities 
know  them  no  more.  Open  to  the  second  and  third 
chapters  of  the  Revelation,  and  read  the  prophecy  and 
warning  there  uttered,  and  observe  the  wonderful 
fulfillment  of  every  word.  All  this  Eastern  world 
abounds  in  lessons  of  light  and  instruction  on  the 
pages  of  sacred  truth  ;  and  every  day  of  travel  among 
the  islands  of  the  Archipelago,  or  the  cities  of  Asia 
Minor,  invests  those  pages  with  a  reality  that  they 
never  possessed  before.  All  this  is  more  than  classic, 
it  is  hallowed  scenery. 

Smyrna  has  long  been  an  important  station  of  mis- 
sions from  the  American  Board.  Here  that  good  man 
Daniel  Temple  labored,  and  his  influence,  now  that 
he  is  dead  and  gone,  is  felt  among  the  people,  as  I 
was  assured  by  residents.  With  my  friends,  Messrs. 
Hill  and  Righter,  I  called  on  the  American  missiona- 
ries now  here,  and  we  were  welcomed  with  a  hearti- 
ness that  made  it  a  double  joy  to  meet  them.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Ladd  is  preaching  to  the  Armenians,  and 
Miss  Watson  and  Miss  Danforth  are  engaged  in  teach- 
ing. The  Rev.  Mr.  Morgan  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Parsons 
are  directing  their  efforts  to  the  Jews,  who  are  numer- 
ous in  Smyrna,  and  have  a  part  of  the  city  to  them- 


ASIA     MINOR  —  SMYRNA.  225 

Self-denials.  Bobbers. 

selves,  through  which  we  walked  with  these  mission- 
aries. Perhaps  more  deeply  than  at  Athens,  I  felt  the 
greatness  of  the  sacrifice  which  these  men  and  their 
wives  are  making  when  they  expatriate  themselves  in 
youth,  and  suffer  an  exile  for  life  from  the  relations 
of  one's  own  country  and  home  ;  not  suffering  the 
want  of  food  or  raiment,  or  houses  to  dwell  in — all 
these  things  they  may  have  here  in  as  much  abun- 
dance and  comfort  as  in  America — but  denying  them- 
selves all  that  goes  to  make  the  future  of  one's  life  on 
earth  attractive,  and  contenting  themselves  with  the 
prospect  of  doing  little  or  nothing  of  which  they  will 
see  any  fruits  while  they  live,  and  with  no  hope  or 
desire  of  being  any  thing  more  than  an  unknown 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  in  a  foreign  land.  Yet  how 
cheerful  these  men  and  women  are!  To  see  them  in 
their  houses,  at  the  fireside,  or  around  the  table,  you 
would  not  think  of  their  being  away  from  home — in- 
deed they  are  not ;  they  have  made  it  a  home  where 
duty  calls  them,  and  are  just  as  happy  here  as  they 
would  be  in  their  native  land. 

The  missionaries  would  not  allow  us  to  make  any 
excursions  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  not  even  to 
ascend  Mount  Pagus,  as  the  country  is  infested  with 
robbers,  who  still  carry  on  a  system  of  plunder  which 
I  supposed  was  broken  up  even  in  this  semi-barbarous 
region.  "Not  long  since  an  English  gentleman  resid- 
ing here,  a  merchant,  was  walking  in  his  garden  near 
his  villa,  a  short  distance  out  of  the  city,  when  four 
robbers  entered  and  told  him  he  must  go  with  them. 
He  knew  his  fate  at  once,  and  sending  his  children  to 

K* 


226        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Man  carried  off.  Porters. 

inform  their  mother  that  he  was  going  away,  but 
would  return  in  a  day  or  two,  he  walked  off  with  his 
captors.  They  conducted  him  to  their  lurking-place 
among  the  mountains,  gave  him  a  place  to  sleep  in 
then*  cave,  and  the  next  morning  took  his  draft  for 
five  thousand  dollars  to  his  "banking-house  at  Smyrna, 
and  getting  the  money  as  the  price  of  his  liberty,  re- 
stored him  to  his  distracted  family.  Not  unfrequently 
they  have  carried  off  children  in  this  way,  and  if  then- 
parents  hesitate  about  the  ransom,  the  robbers  send 
them  the  ears  of  the  children,  and  say  that  their  heads 
will  come  the  next  day  unless  the  money  is  forthcom- 
ing. In  vain  has  the  government  attempted  to  break 
up  these  lawless  hordes.  If  a  detachment  of  soldiers 
should  be  sent  in  search  of  them,  the  soldiers  would 
be  quite  as  likely  to  become  robbers  as  to  catch  the 
rest. 

I  was  struck  with  the  muscular  build  and  bearing 
of  the  hernials  or  porters  of  Smyrna.  They  come  from 
the  region  of  Lake  Van,  and  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  the 
carrying  business  in  the  city.  After  spending  a  few 
years  at  Smyrna,  and  acquiring  some  property,  they 
return  to  their  native  district,  and  others  come  down 
to  supply  their  places.  We  had  been  told  that  some 
of  them  would  carry  on  their  backs  as  much  as  five  or 
six  hundred  pounds;  but  doubting  the  truth  of  the 
statement,  we  made  inquiries,  and  found  that  it  was 
under  rather  than  over  the  truth.  The  Dutch  consul, 
Mr.  Van  Lennep,  assured  me  that  he  had  often  had 
men  in  his  service  who  would  cany  eight  or  even  nine 
hundred  pounds  ;   and  he  gave  me  an  account  of  one 


ASIA     MINOR  —  SMYRNA.  227 

A  strong  porter.  Large  story] 

man  who,  upon  a  wager,  took  fifteen  hundred  pounds 
on  his  back,  walked  across  the  street  with  it,  slipped 
and  fell  under  the  load,  and  was  crushed  to  death. 
We  told  our  friends  that  we  were  very  willing  to  hear 
the  largest  stories  they  had  to  relate,  but  really  this 
would  be  hardly  credited.  However,  the  authority 
was  abundant,  and  we  could  not  doubt  it.  Of  course 
no  man  could  raise  such  a  burden  with  his  hands. 
He  has  it  placed  upon  his  back,  and  then  walks  off 
with  it.     With  this  load  we  will  take  leave  of  Smyrna. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

A    FEARFUL    VOYAGE. 

Going  to  the  Wars — Turks,  Arabs,  and  Nubians  on  Board — Muti- 
nous, ragged,  wretched  Fellows — Sickness — Fat  Turk  sleeps  with 
us — Isle  of  Tenedos — Site  of  Old  Troy — Turks  demand  to  be  put 
ashore — Quieted  again — Death  comes — In  the  Dardanelles — Bur- 
ial of  the  Turk — Abydos — Sea  of  Marmora. 

December  11.  It  was  after  dark  when  we  reached 
the  steamer  bound  for  Constantinople.  Had  we 
known  what  was  before  us,  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  we  should  have  forfeited  our  passage  money  and 
waited  for  another  vessel.  The  war  with  Russia  is 
calling  for  all  the  fighting  men  that  can  be  raised  in 
the  Turkish  dominions,  and  though  we  had  heard 
that  some  troops  from  Smyrna  were  ready  to  go  to 
Constantinople,  we  had  no  thought  of  having  the 
pleasure  of  their  company,  nor  the  sort  of  company 
they  would  prove,  should  they  be  our  fellow-travel- 
lers. We  found  it  rough  in  getting  from  the  wharf 
to  the  steamer,  and  once  or  twice,  in  the  half  mile  of 
rowing  in  the  bay,  I  thought  we  were  to  be  swamped. 
The  excitement  of  this  run  made  us  glad  to  get  under 
the  lee  of  the  steamer,  where  we  were  surprised  to  find 
scores  of  small  boats  before  us,  loaded  with  men  scaling 
the  sides  of  the  ship  with  ropes,  and  shouting  from  the 
boats  below  to  those  on  board.     The  step-ladder  was 


A     FEARFUL     VOYAGE.  229 

Wild  Arabs.  1taa&  fellows. 

tlironged  so  that  it  seemed  impossible  for  us  to  make 
the  ascent.  Some  were  struggling  to  get  up,  and 
others  as  determined  to  get  down :  all  was  confusion ; 
but  by  dint  of  perseverance,  pushing  our  way  through, 
at  some  risk  of  being  pushed  into  the  sea,  we  reached 
the  deck,  where  the  scene  before  us  began  to  unfold 
in  colors  far  from  inviting  or  propitious.  Three  or 
four  companies  of  volunteers  from  the  interior  of  Asia 
Minor,  wild  men  of  the  mountains,  Turks,  Arabs, 
Nubians,  and  those  whose  tribe  o$  tongue  it  would  be 
difficult  to  define — a  savage  horde,  armed  to  the  teeth 
many  of  them,  and  some  with  no  arms ;  well  clothed 
some,  and  others  half  clad,  were  now  crowding  on 
deck,  and  spreading  themselves  over  the  ship.  With 
their  luggage  for  the  battle-fields  in  great  bundles, 
they  were  making  rough  beds  for  themselves,  and 
packing  closely  together,  at  once  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  each  other  warm  and  making  room  for  the 
troop.  Some  were  howling  and  shouting,  some  were 
singing  and  laughing,  more  of  them  grave  and  sullen, 
frowning  and  gloomy;  refusing  companionship  with 
those  about  them,  they  sat  wrapped  in  their  blankets 
and  meditations.  The  work  of  lading  was  still  going 
on ;  merchandise  and  coal  were  hoisted  in  along  with 
the  Turks  and  their  plunder,  increasing  the  uproar. 
Many  of  these  rough  fellows  had  come  from  a  warmer 
climate  than  this,  and  as  the  night  was  cold,  they 
hovered  near  the  machinery  and  smoke-pipe,  sitting 
down  on  the  warmest  place  they  could  find,  and 
shivering  even  there.  A  lot  of  them  sheltered  by  the 
gunwale  from  the  wind  were  merry,  and  made  music 


230        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Making  music.  Invading  the  cabin. 

on  a  rude  instrument  in  imitation  of  a  drum — an 
earthen  jar  with  a  dried  skin  stretched  over  the  mouth 
of  it,  which  they  beat  with  the  hand.  Some  of  them 
made  an  attempt  at  singing,  and  a  wretched  attempt 
it  was,  making  night  hideous.  Fortunately  their 
arms  were  taken  from  them  as  fast  as  they  came  on 
board,  all  but  their  yataghan,  a  dirk,  which  each  one 
wore  in  his  girdle.  There  was  a  great  choice  of 
places,  even  on  deck,  and  the  selection  was  not  made 
without  trouble ;  several  fights  occurred — the  dirks 
flourished  madly,  the  chiefs  interfered,  and  each  com- 
pany being  arranged  by  itself,  and  the  chiefs  of  all 
being  encamped  together,  the  rival  hosts  were  finally 
distributed  in  their  respective  quarters.  There  was 
no  disposition  on  the  part  of  any  of  the  cabin  passen- 
gers to  turn  in.  We  had  taken  refuge  in  the  cabin, 
but  this  was  not  safe  from  the  intrusion  of  our  new 
companions.  They  began  to  peer  into  the  windows 
and  down  the  passage-way,  and  attracted  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  comfort  below,  contrasted  with  the  dreary 
and  wretched  state  of  things  above,  they  were  tempt- 
ed to  come  down.  We  had  the  door  closed,  but  they 
raised  the  hatchway,  swung  themselves  over  and 
dropped  down  into  the  midst  of  us — ugly  looking 
customers,  and  just  the  sort  of  people  a  man  does  not 
wish  to  sleep  with.  At  length,  as  the  evening  wore 
away,  we  made  all  fast,  shut  our  state-room  door,  and 
commending  ourselves  to  Providence,  feeling  that  we 
were  in  His  hands,  though  exposed  to  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  Turk,  we  went  to  bed  and  feel  asleep. 
Strange  that  we  become  so  accustomed  to  danger,  and 


A     FEARFUL     VOYAGE.  231 

Going  to  sleep. Lying  in  port. 

can  be  so  insensible  in  the  midst  of  it.  A  hundred 
voices  were  raging  on  deck  when  I  went  to  sleep; 
there  was  the  tramping  of  a  wild  horde  of  savage  men 
right  over  my  head ;  they  were  suffering  from  cold, 
and  knew  that  warm  quarters  were  below  them  and 
within  then  reach,  and  I  had  very  little  doubt  that 
they  would  take  possession  of  them  in  the  course  of  a 
few  hours,  but  for  all  that  I  was  soon  asleep.  And 
when  I  awoke,  as  I  did  at  midnight  or  soon  after,  it  was 
not  from  the  uproar  of  the  wild  men,  or  the  breaking 
in  of  the  cabin  doors,  or  the  call  to  arms  to  fight  the 
Turk ;  I  awoke  to  the  most  profound  silence  that  ever 
pervaded  a  ship.  Not  a  voice  was  to  be  heard — not 
a  foot  was  stirring.  "Blessed  be  he  who  first  in- 
vented sleep,"  saith  Sancho ;  and  surely  never  was 
there  such  an  exhibition  of  its  power.  The  savages 
were  all  asleep.  So  the  infant,  the  weary  mother,  the 
tost  sailor,  the  soldier,  the  sage,  the  worn  traveller, 
on  the  field  or  the  sea,  abroad  or  at  home,  all  asleep ! 
Blessed  be  He  who  "giveth  his  beloved  sleep."  He 
sendeth  his  rain  on  the  just  and  the  unjust,  and  Mos- 
lem and  Christian  sleep  together  under  the  Crescent 
and  the  Cross. 

The  next  morning  was  bright,  cold,  and  wintry: 
although  we  were  to  put  to  sea  last  evening,  the 
weather  was  so  threatening,  and  our  raw  recruits  so 
turbulent,  it  was  not  judged  prudent  to  leave  port. 
I  was  early  on  deck  to  learn  the  condition  of  the  com- 
pany after  their  first  night's  experience.  Indeed,  it 
was  so  dark  when  we  came  aboard  we  had  no  good 
opportunity  to  study  the  characters  with  whom  we 


232  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Making  friends. 


were  now  embarked.  They  were  stretched  over  the 
deck,  with  their  clothes,  cloaks,  and  rags  wrapped 
round  them,  as  close  to  each  other  as  on  a  battle- 
field. Gradually  they  roused  from  the  stupor  of  the 
night,  and  began  to  show  themselves,  though  few  rose 
from  the  deck.  Aft,  near  the  captain's  office,  which 
was  under  the  quarter-deck,  the  chiefs  were  seated 
together:  one  of  them  in  a  suit  of  blue,  with  metal 
buttons,  and  a  Turkish  cloak,  embroidered  with  gold, 
over  it,  a  brilliant  scarf  around  him,  and  a  red  turban 
on  his  head.  Another  had  a  gray  suit,  with  scarlet 
and  gold  lace,  and  a  silver  cloth  mantle,  Turkish 
trowsers,  and  red  stockings,  and  a  white  turban  about 
his  fez  or  red  cap.  One  or  two  inferior  officers  with 
them  were  less  dressed  than  these,  and  the  best  of 
them  had  very  little  to  distinguish  them,  and,  indeed, 
would  not  have  been  distinguished  at  all,  but  for  the 
ragamuffin  appearance  of  the  horde  of  followers  in 
then  train.  These  looked  to  me  more  like  devils 
than  men ;  and  if  one  of  the  chiefs  had  mounted  a 
white  horse,  I  should  have  likened  him,  at  the  head 
of  his  fellows,  to  Death,  in  the  Revelation,  with  Hell 
following.  I  offered  my  hand  to  the  principal  chief, 
and  he  pressed  it  to  his  breast,  gave  me  to  understand 
that  he  loved  Americans,  and  was  happy  to  make  my 
acquaintance.  This  I  extended  somewhat  among  the 
crowd,  giving  them  apples  and  nuts,  which  they  re- 
ceived with  pleasure,  and  sometimes  offered  me  their 
own  provisions  in  return,  and  expected  me  to  eat  with 
them,  a  hospitality  which  it  was  rather  difficult  to  es- 
cape.    In  the  course  of  the  morning  it  was  necessary, 


A     FEARFUL     VOYAGE.  233 

Mutiny.  The  engine. 

in  trimming  the  ship,  that  some  of  them  should  be 
sent  forward — an  order  they  were  very  reluctant  to 
obey.  The  steamer's  captain  lacked  energy  and  firm- 
ness, and,  indeed,  every  great  quality  of  a  commander 
except  patience,  and  his  inefficiency  early  suggested 
the  dangers  to  which  we 'were  exposed  with  these  wild 
men  on  board.  The  chiefs  were  called  on  to  allay  the 
storm  and  enforce  the  order.  The  difficulty  proved 
to  be  jealousy  between  the  separate  companies,  and 
the  fear  that  one  was  to  have  a  worse  place  than 
the  other  on  ship.  At  last  the  matter  was  adjusted 
by  the  chiefs,  and  the  mutinous  spirit  was  subdued, 
the  masses  properly  distributed,  and  the  vessel  put 
to  sea. 

Now  the  excitement  began.  Most  of  them  had 
never  seen  a  steamer  before,  and  their  curiosity  was 
intense  as  the  engine  began  to  work,  and  the  ship  to 
move  in  the  water  without  sails.  Affecting  great  in- 
difference, some  of  them  would  come  to  the  engine, 
look  on  with  gravity,  and  turn  away  as  if  they  cared 
nothing  about  it,  but  would  look  back  and  return 
again  and  study  it  with  a  stupid  sort  of  amazement, 
showing  not  quite  as  much  emotion  as  a  horse  under 
the  same  circumstances.  Among  so  many  and  from 
different  parts  of  the  country,  there  must  have  been 
a  great  variety  of  character,  and  it  was  a  source  of 
amusement  to  observe  them.  One  was  dressed  in 
fantastic  colors  with  a  steeple  cap  on,  covered  with 
little  bells,  and  he  was  the  harlequin  of  the  troop,  a 
fool  to  make  sj)ort  for  the  rest.  He  worked  hard  and 
made  wretched  sport,  seldom  making  any  body  laugh 


234        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


but  himself.  A  large,  fat  Turk,  with  several  yards  of 
yellow  and  scarlet  wound  about  head  and  shoulders, 
sat  on  his  haunches  by  the  cabin  door,  a  dark-visaged 
old  fellow  with  a  long  beard,  now  and  then  an  ugly 
grin  making  his  face  more  hideous ;  and  whenever  I 
came  near  him  he  gave  me  a  look  that  told  me  plain- 
ly he  wished  to  be  left  to  his  own  reflections.  Among 
the  troop  was  a  Nubian,  black  as  night,  a  skeleton  of 
a  man,  nearly  if  not  quite  seven  feet  high,  half  clad — 
a  most  attenuated  specimen  of  the  human  form. 
Many  of  them  were  very  young;  wild  boys  of  eighteen 
or  twenty,  off  for  a  frolic,  and  now  under  no  restraint. 
For  a  few  piastres  they  would  go  through  the  dances 
of  their  country,  coarse,  indeed  disgusting  motions,  to 
rude  music  on  a  sort  of  fiddle,  an  instrument  as  near- 
ly resembling  a  civilized  violin  as  their  dancing  the 
fairy  evolutions  of  Paris  girls.  Yet  it  was  well  to 
keep  them  in  good  humor,  and  I  was  always  pleased 
to  set  them  singing,  playing,  or  dancing — any  thing, 
indeed,  but  fighting.  Of  that  we  should  have  enough. 
In  the  course  of  the  forenoon  we  got  out  of  the  bay 
into  the  sea.  The  wind  rose  to  a  gale.  The  steamer 
rolled  fearfully.  The  waves  often  swept  over  the 
decks,  to  the  dismay  of  the  poor  fellows,  who  had  no 
shelter  from  the  fury  of  the  wind  and  water.  Soon 
they  were  sea-sick.  One  and  then  another,  and  now 
a  score  together  would  go  to  the  side  of  the  vessel, 
and  retch  in  their  agony.  But  this  was  soon  impos- 
sible. As  they  sat  or  lay,  losing  all  sense  of  shame 
and  all  regard  for  each  other,  they  gave  up  to  the 
direful  influence  of  the  malady,  and  such  a  scene  en- 


A    FEAKEUL    VOYAGE.  235 

Their  miseries.  Driven  into  port. 

sued  as  no  one  wishes  to  describe  or  read.  The  few 
who  at  first  stood  out  were  merry  at  the  misery  of 
the  rest.  As  the  waves  burst  on  the  deck  they  would 
receive  them  with  shouts  of  defiance,  in  which  I 
could  hear  "Allah!  ah,  ah!"  and  roars  of  laughter, 
but  these  soon  died  away.  The  masses  huddled 
closer  together,  the  chiefs  implored  to  be  allowed  to 
go  into  the  cabin,  and  we  feared  they  would  demand 
it  and  take  possession.  But  sickness  conquered  the 
whole  of  them,  and  there  they  lay,  a  disgusting  mass 
of  miserable  wretches,  in  their  own  filth,  helpless,  and 
therefore  for  the  present  not  to  be  feared.  We  pitied 
them  certainly,  but  we  had  a  secret  wish  that  they 
might  be  tolerably  sea-sick  till  we  got  to  Constanti- 
nople. 

Confined  to  our  cabin,  unable  to  get  about  on  deck, 
and  sickened  by  what  we  saw  when,  for  the  sake  of 
air,  we  put  our  heads  above,  we  dragged  out  a  miser- 
able day  of  it,  and  felt  a  sort  of  melancholy  satisfac- 
tion when  night  came  that  we  might  go  to  bed.  The 
north  wind  blew  so  strong,  and  the  sea  ran  so  high, 
that  at  midnight  we  came  to  anchor,  and  in  the  morn- 
ing found  ourselves  in  the  small  harbor  of  Cape  Baba, 
on  the  west  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  with  a  small  island 
on  the  other  side  of  us.  The  Austrian  steamer  which 
left  Smyrna  twelve  hours  before  us  had  been  driven 
in  by  stress  of  weather,  and  was  at  anchor  near. 
The  cold  had  now  become  so  severe  that  many  of  our 
would-be  soldiers  were  ready  to  perish,  and  they  got 
permission  to  drop  themselves  one  by  one  into  the 
hold   with   the   coal.     The   passage   was    not   large 


236        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Down  in  the  hold.  Making  the  best  of  it. 

enough  to  admit  a  very  fat  Turk  with  all  his  gar- 
ments on  ;  but  the  poor  fellows,  "black  Arabs,  swarthy 
Turks,  and  skinny  negroes,  would  slip  down  into  the 
pit,  as  much  pleased  with  getting  out  of  the  wind  as 
if  they  were  dropping  into  first-rate  quarters.  All  the 
spare  sails  of  the  vessel  were  stretched  as  great  blank- 
ets over  those  on  deck.  They  had  recovered  from 
their  sea-sickness,  and  were  again  disposed  to  demand 
better  places  on  shipboard.  We  had  made  so  little 
progress  when  we  ought  to  be  at  the  end  of  the  voy- 
age, that  discontent  was  general  among  the  cabin  pas- 
sengers, as  well  as  with  the  army  above.  We  felt 
that  the  captain  had  committed  an  outrage,  for  which 
he  deserved  punishment,  in  taking  such  a  crowd  on 
board ;  subjecting  his  passengers  to  the  extremest  an- 
noyance and  positive  suffering,  while  he  certainly  put 
their  lives  and  property  at  the  mercy  of  a  lawless 
horde  of  men  whom  it  would  be  impossible  to  control 
or  resist  if  they  chose  to  take  the  vessel  into  their 
own  hands.  However,  we  must  make  the  best  of  the 
worst ;  and  once  more  getting  under  way,  we  bore  up 
as  well  as  we  could,  seeking  to  keep  all  hands  in  good 
humor,  and  learning  what  we  could  of  the  barbarous 
people  with  whom  we  were  doomed  to  companionship. 
In  the  afternoon  we  reached  the  island  of  Tenedos, 
and  running  into  a  small  bay  on  the  coast  of  the  main 
land  opposite,  we  came  to  anchor  near  the  site  of  Old 
Troy.  In  this  island  the  Greeks  secreted  themselves 
when  they  professed  to  retire  from  the  siege  of  Troy, 
and  sent  the  big  horse  as  a  farewell  gift.  From  this 
island  came  the  snakes  that  destroyed  Laocoon  and 


A     FEARFUL     VOYAGE.  237 

Old  Troy.  Short  of  food. 

his  two  boys — the  priest  who  denounced  the  horse  as 
a  treacherous  gift,  and  smote  it  with  a  spear.  No 
ruins  even  mark  this  barren  shore ;  and  on  the  spot 
which  has  been  agreed  on  as  the  site  of  ancient  Troy, 
not  a  stone  that  bears  the  impress  of  the  art  of  any 
age  can  be  found.  Trojafuit.  Troy  was,  and  prob- 
ably it  was  here ;  but  the  ingens  gloria  Teucromm 
is  gone  forever. 

No  sooner  had  we  come  to  anchor,  and  not  far  from 
land,  than  the  Turks  demanded  to  be  put  ashore. 
They  had  nearly  exhausted  their  provisions — the 
voyage  was  likely  to  be  three  times  as  long  as  they 
expected,  and  sick  of  the  sea,  forgetting  the  glory 
and  plunder  that  were  promised  them  in  the  war, 
they  were  bent  on  going  home.  The  captain  was 
willing  to  part  with  them,  and  ordered  the  boats  to 
be  lowered  to  send  the  deserters  ashore.  The  chiefs 
now  resisted.  They  begged — they  threatened — I 
think  they  swore.  They  were  in  a  terrible  rage  at 
the  prospect  of  their  men  retreating  in  the  face  of 
such  dangers,  when  they  were  on  their  way  to  fight 
the  battles  of  frhe  Crescent.  As  the  want  of  provi- 
sions was  the  only  valid  argument  in  favor  of  deser- 
tion, they  soon  arranged  with  the  captain  to  supply 
them ;  and  as  part  of  our  freight  was  food  for  the 
fleets,  we  were  able  to  furnish  what  was  wanting; 
and  after  a  mutinous  and  exciting  scene  of  an  hour, 
the  turbulent  spirits  were  quelled,  and  we  resumed 
our  course. 

And  then  Death  came  !  He  is  never  far  away.  In 
such  a  mass  of  human  beings,  of  all  conditions  and 


238       EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Death  among  us.  The  old  Turk. 

constitutions,  exposed  as  they  were  to  new  trials, 
and  many  of  them  suffering  in  a  colder  climate  than 
they  had  ever  endured,  it  was  not  strange  that  some 
of  them  should  be  very  sick.  One,  we  had  heard, 
was  seized  with  a  sort  of  pleurisy  shortly  after  com- 
ing on  board.  The  surgeon  of  the  vessel,  and  the 
doctor  who  attended  the  troops,  did  what  they  could 
for  him,  which  was  very  little.  He  lay  in  a  small 
house  on  the  hows  of  the  ship,  where  the  third  class 
passengers  had  berths,  and  surrounded  by  his  own 
people,  who  smoked  their  long  chibouques  or  the 
nargalee,  indifferent  to  the  fate  of  their  comrade,  he 
died.  "  It  was  the  will  of  God ;"  and  they  smoked 
on,  for  it  was  none  of  their  business.  If  a  dog  had 
died,  there  would  have  been  more  feeling.  But  the 
death  had  its  effect  on  us,  who  now  saw  the  approach 
of  a  new  danger.  If  sickness  should  spread  among 
the  crowd  they  might  be  less  calm,  perhaps  be  roused 
to  new  demands ;  and  what  might  be  the  state  of 
things  to-morrow  none  could  say.  But  if  Turks  were 
so  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  surely  Christians  might 
trust  him  a  little  longer.  Taking  a  lesson  of  submis- 
sion from  the  heathen,  we  retired  to  the  cabin  and 
made  ready  for  one  more  night's  repose. 

A  Turkish  merchant,  of  enormous  fatness,  well 
dressed  in  full  Turkish  costume,  had  been  with  us  in 
the  ship  a  day  or  two  before  we  reached  Smyrna, 
attended  by  two  slaves,  who  washed  his  feet  every 
morning,  and  who  ministered  to  him  constantly.  He 
had  hie  quarters  in  a  small  apartment  on  deck,  which 
was  now  rendered  unendurable  by  the  noise  and  in- 


A     FEAKFUL     VOYAGE.  239 

Salutations.  Dardanelles. 

roads  of  the  troop.  He  came  down  into  the  cabin, 
and  learning  that  there  was  a  vacant  "berth  in  our 
state-room,  presented  himself  in  all  his  robes  as  a 
suppliant  at  our  door. 

Salaam  Aleihoiim,  "Peace  be  with  you,"  he  said; 
and  we  replied  Khosh  gelding,  "Welcome."  Mash- 
allah,  "In  the  name  of  God,"  said  he,  and  putting 
his  hand  to  the  side  of  his  head,  intimated  that  he 
wished  to  sleep ;  that  he  was  distressed  with  the 
noise  above,  and  desired  the  luxury  of  a  bed  with  us. 
I  had  cultivated  his  acquaintance  some  days  before, 
and  now  he  renewed  his  invitation  that  I  would  visit 
him  at  Constantinople,  promising  to  show  me  his 
harem!  It  was  impossible  to  resist  such  politeness 
on  his  part :  we  had  to  reciprocate  his  courtesy,  and 
invite  him  to  spend  the  night  with  us.  In  fifteen 
minutes  he  was  snoring  heavily,  dreaming  doubtless 
of  his  harem  at  Stamboul. 

We  were  to  touch  at  another  port  this  morning,  but 
the  wind  was  too  high  to  allow  us  to  approach  the 
coast,  and  we  stood  off,  slowly  creeping  along  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Dardanelles.  At  the  town  of  that  name 
we  cast  anchor,  and  sent  ashore  for  the  necessary 
permit  to  enter  the  straits,  no  vessel  being  allowed 
to  pass  this  gate  to  the  Sea  of  Marmora  without  leave 
of  the  Turkish  government.  Two  steamers  were  ly- 
ing by  at  the  same  place,  both  of  them  several  days 
behind  then  time  on  account  of  the  adverse  weather. 
The  town  is  miserably  mean-looking ;  houses  low  and 
dilapidated.  Here  the  dead  Turk  was  sent  ashore 
and  buried.     Their  funeral  ceremony  under  the  most 


240        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Turkish  burial.  Swimming. 

favorable  circumstances  is  short  and  simple:  they 
carry  their  dead  in  silence  to  the  grave-yard,  dig  a 
shallow  grave,  not  more  than  two  or  three  feet  deep, 
after  the  procession  arrives,  and  then  "bury  the  corpse. 
This  is  usually  hurried,  as  they  suppose  the  spirit  to 
be  in  torment  all  the  time  the  body  is  out  of  the 
ground.  In  the  course  of  the  forenoon  we  set  off 
again,  our  whole  company,  cabin  passengers  and 
troops,  in  a  state  of  rebellion  against  the  officers  for 
these  protracted  delays.  We  were  to  have  reached 
Constantinople  in  thirty-six  hours,  and  we  had  al- 
ready been  sixty,  and  were  only  half  way.  But  the 
day  was  enlivened  by  the  views  of  the  shores  on 
either  side,  as  we  made  the  passage  of  these  famous 
straits  against  a  rapid  current ;  strong  fortresses  stud- 
ding the  commanding  points,  and  many  villages,  rude 
and  straggling,  along  the  shores.  The  width  of  these 
straits  varies  from  five  miles  to  the  narrow  pass,  of 
not  more  than  half  a  mile,  at  Abydos,  where  Leander 
swam  across  so  often  to  see  his  mistress  Hero,  and 
where  Lord  Byron  performed  the  same  exploit,  which 
any  good  swimmer  can  do  easily.  It  was  a  comfort 
to  be  so  near  the  land,  for  oru*  wild  men  were  now 
becoming  so  wild  with  cold,  and  some  of  them  suspi- 
cious of  foul  play,  perhaps  a  trick  of  the  enemy,  that 
they  became  more  than  usually  troublesome  and  dis- 
contented. They  even  ventured  into  the  kitchen  and 
stole  some  poultry,  which  was  the  occasion  of  no 
small  disturbance,  and  increased  the  apprehension 
that  they  would  take  still  greater  liberties  if  the 
voyage  was  protracted  much  longer.      The   cold   in- 


A     FEARFUL     VOYAGE.  241 

Cold.  Suffering. 

creased.  The  hills  on  shore  were  covered  with  snow, 
and  the  wind  that  swept  from  them  across  our  ves- 
sel, sent  chills  into  the  hones  and  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  half-clad  children  of  the  desert  on  board. 
Another  night  set  in  upon  us  as  we  left  Gallipolis  and 
struck  into  the  Sea  of  Marmora. 
Vol.  II.— L 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

The  City  at  Sunrise — Magnificence  of  the  Sight — The  Wife-murder 
Door — Dogs — Porters — Mud — Cordial  Reception — Rev.  Mr.  Ben- 
jamin and  Family — A  Turkish  Bath — Rev.  Dr.  Dwigh — Golden 
Horn — Rev.  Mr.  Everett  and  Family — Female  Seminary — Preach- 
ing— Rev.  Mr.  Goodell — Cemetery — Sultan  going  to  Prayer — The 
Bazaars — SlaA'e  Market — The  Harem — Slavery  in  Turkey — Howl- 
ing and  Dancing  Dervishes — Miracle-working — A  Lady  smoking 
— Turkish  Women — Social  Life. 

Dec.  15.  Mr.  Kighter  roused  me  early,  and  sum- 
moned me  on  deck  to  see  the  sunrise  as  we  were  about 
to  come  in  sight  of  the  city  of  Constantine.  It  was 
a  morning  never  to  be  forgotten  till  all  sense  of  the 
beautiful  and  glorious  has  passed  away,  or  a  vision 
of  brighter  magnificence  is  revealed.  The  snow-cap- 
ped summit  of  Mount  Olympus  was  now  resplendent 
in  the  beams  of  the  rising  sun,  and  these  were  stream- 
ing along  the  hillsides  and  flowing  into  the  plains 
with  a  wastefulness  of  glory  that  excited  and  charmed 
us  as  we  stood  high  on  the  bows  of  the  ship  to  take 
the  view  in  the  first  blush  of  its  opening  charms. 
And  there  stood  the  swelling  domes,  the  arrowy  min- 
arets, the  shining  palaces  and  towers  of  Constantinople, 
gleaming  in  the  morning  sun.  At  first  view  a  mass 
of  temples  and  human  habitations  crowded  on  a  mount- 
ain side,  and  gardens,  cypresses,  and  pinnacles  ap- 
peared to  be  thrown  in  without  regard  to  arrangement ; 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  243 

Site  of  the  city.  The  wall. 

but  we  soon  distinguished  Stamboul  and  Scutari,  and 
then  we  rushed  by  the  Seraglio  Palace  into  the  mouth 
of  the  Golden  Horn.  Pera  rose  from  the  water's  edge 
with  the  new  marble  palace  of  the  Sultan  on  the 
Bosphorus ;  and  there  we  came  to  anchor,  having 
Scutari  behind  us,  Stamboul  on  our  right,  with  St. 
Sophia,  the  St.  Peter's  of  the  Moslem,  and  a  score  of 
mosques  with  their  surrounding  minarets  in  full  view, 
and  Pera,  surmounted  by  the  Russian  palace,  on  our 
left.  The  Golden  Horn,  an  arm  of  the  sea,  was 
stretched  out  before  us,  clasped  by  a  bridge,  and  filled 
with  the  shipping  of  every  clime ;  a  sight,  in  all  its 
parts,  of  such  extraordinary  elements  of  beauty  and 
grandeur  as  the  approach  to  no  other  city  in  the  whole 
world  presents.  No  wonder  that  it  has  been  besieged 
twenty-six  times !  No  wonder  that  every  conqueror 
who  comes  in  sight  of  it  covets  it  and  resolves  to  have 
it!  No  wonder  that  Nicholas  longs  to  transfer  his 
palace  from  the  frozen  borders  of  Finland  to  this  en- 
chanting zone ! 

We  came  to  anchor  just  in  the  mouth  of  the  Golden 
Horn,  and  in  full  view  of  the  Seraglio  Palace  of  the 
Sultan,  at  the  water's  edge,  on  the  point  of  land  made 
by  the  Golden  Horn  and  the  Bosphorus.  The  chap- 
lain of  the  British  Ambassador  at  Constantinople  was 
our  fellow-passenger,  and  now  pointed  out  to  us  the 
many  objects  of  interest  which  met  our  eyes,  and  of 
which  with  eager  curiosity  we  were  seeking  the  names. 

"That  opening  in  the  dead  wall  around  the  palace 
grounds  you  see,  and  an  inclined  plane  extending  to 
the  water?" 


244  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Wife-door.  The  dogs. 

"  Certainly,  sir  ;  is  it  remarkable  ?" 

"That,"'  said  Mr.  B.,  "is  the  door  and  the  plane 
by  which  the  victims  of  the  Sultan's  displeasure  are 
silently  passed  out  into  the  sea,  tied  in  bags,  and 
instantly  sunk.  Many  a  poor  wife,  without  crime, 
but  having  lost  favor  in  her  master's  eyes,  has  been 
suddenly  murdered  there." 

I  was  afterward  told  by  others  in  Constantinople 
that  this  door  and  inclined  plane  are  used  for  the  dis- 
charge of  rubbish  from  the  gardens  and  palace — a 
statement  not  inconsistent  with  the  former.  No  rub- 
bish is  more  likely  to  be  cleared  out  of  a  Sultan's 
palace  them  a  wife  he  wishes  to  be  rid  of. 

Fourteen  dogs,  a  scurvy  set  of  curs,  ugly  and  hun- 
gry, stood  on  the  wharf  when  Ave  were  rowed  ashore, 
as  if  they  were  ready  to  eat  us  on  the  moment  of 
landing.  A  score  or  more  of  porters  seized  our  lug- 
gage to  cany  it  on  their  backs  wherever  we  wished, 
and  saddled  horses  stood  ready  for  us  to  mount  and 
ride.  JNo  cart  or  carnage  of  any  sort  was  to  be  had. 
All  the  carrying  from  vessels  in  the  harbor  to  any 
part  of  the  town  is  done  by  the  hands  of  porters.  A 
bale  of  goods,  or  a  hogshead  of  molasses  is  girt  wTith 
a  rope,  and  two  poles  being  thrust  through,  it  is  car- 
ried off  by  main  strength. 

Through  the  mud  and  filth  of  the  narrow  and  crook- 
ed streets  we  climbed  the  hill  of  Pera.  It  was  im- 
possible to  walk  out  of  the  mud.  There  are  no  side- 
walks ;  and  as  the  dogs — a  "peculiar  institution"  of 
the  city — act  as  scavengers,  all  the  refuse  from  the 
houses  is  thrown  into  the  street  for  their  consump- 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  245 


An  old  friend. A  bath. 

tion.  The  clogs  belong  to  no  one  in  particular,  but 
to  every  "body  in  general.  I  counted  five  dying  or 
dead,  whom  I  had  to  step  over  or  around  in  my  first 
walk  from  the  shore  to  my  lodgings.  Now  and  then 
we  met  a  lumbering  kind  of  carriage  drawn  by  a  sin- 
gle horse,  and  led  by  a  servant,  a  Turkish  lady  sitting 
on  the  floor  of  the  carriage,  with  a  white  vail  over 
her  head  and  the  lower  part  of  her  face,  leaving  only 
her  eyes  to  be  seen. 

The  Eev.  Mr,  Benjamin,  an  old  college  friend  of 
mine,  insisted  on  my  taking  lodgings  at  his  house — ■ 
the  Mission  House  of  the  American  Board,  in  which 
is  the  Protestant  chapel  and  school.  It  was  a  joy  to 
me,  after  being  worn  and  worried  for  so  many  days 
and  nights  with  the  miserable  company  I  had  in  the 
French  steamer,  to  find  myself  in  the  bosom  of  a 
lovely  Christian  family,  and  surrounded  by  friends 
who  hastened  to  call  and  give  me  a  cordial  welcome 
to  the  East. 

It  will  not  surprise  any  one  that  my  companions 
of  travel  and  I  were  in  suffering  need  of  a  bath. 
Shut  up  in  the  steamer  with  five  or  six  hundred  men 
of  undoubted  filthiness,  compelled  to  come  in  contact 
with  them  constantly,  and  sleeping,  or  trying  to  sleep 
in  their  vicinity  night  after  night,  we  had  every  rea- 
son to  believe  that  a  Turkish,  bath  was  the  one  thino- 

o 

specially  needful  for  us  in  our  suspicious  circum- 
stances. Indeed,  I  thought  we  might  have  been  sub- 
jected to  a  slight  quarantine  before  our  admission  to 
the  domestic  circle.  But  we  would  have  a  bath,  and 
that  would  purge  us  of  all  possible  grounds  of  objec- 


246        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  house. Native  dress. 

tion.  Mr.  Benjamin  was  our  guide,  and  following 
him  down  the  hill,  we  were  led  to  one  of  the  many 
establishments  in  which  the  city  abounds.  The  Turks 
are  professedly  very  cleanly.  They  pretend  to  wash 
whenever  they  enter  their  mosque  to  pray,  and  often 
resort  to  the  baths,  of  which  there  are  every  variety 
in  price  and  quality  to  suit  the  wants  and  tastes  of 
the  people.  We  wished  to  be  "put  through"  the 
process  in  the  most  approved  style,  and  therefore 
passed  by  several,  which  would  have  been  very  fair, 
but  were  said  to  be  inferior  to  the  best.  One  of  them, 
where  we  were  designing  to  bathe,  was  engaged  to-* 
day  exclusively  for  the  women,  and  of  course  we  were 
not  admitted. 

We  entered  a  large  apartment  with  a  white  marble 
floor,  and  a  fountain  of  water  playing  in  the  centre. 
A  dome  was  pierced  with  many  holes,  shedding  a  dim 
twilight  over  the  room,  and  its  warmth  induced  a 
pleasing  languor.  On  a  raised  platform  were  divans, 
and  bathers  were  reclining.  We  stretched  ourselves 
to  rest  a  moment  after  our  long  walk.  A  servant 
then  assisted  me  in  undressing.  Enveloped  in  a 
large  shawl,  and  with  towels  about  my  head,  I  rose 
up  from  the  divan,  and  stepping  off  from  the  plat- 
form, put  my  feet,  not  on  the  marble  floor,  but  into 
wooden  clogs,  which  stood  ready  to  receive  them,  and 
marched  unsteadily  along  in  the  procession  of  simi- 
larly clad,  or  unclad  bathers.  Passing  out  of  this 
room  we  entered  another  steaming  with  heated  vapor, 
all  but  suffocating.  It  grew  hotter  as  we  advanced, 
and  I  paused,  fearful  to  proceed.     Becoming  accus- 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  247 


Kneading  a  Turk. 


tomed  to  it  in  a  few  moments,  we  were  led  into  still 
another  room,  with  a  marble  circular  platform  about 
a  foot  high  in  the  centre,  while  all  around  the  sides 
were  niches,  a  fountain  in  each,  from  which  hot  and 
cold  water  was  flowing.     On  the  marble  floor  a  naked 
Turk  was  lying  flat  upon  his  back,  and  a  stout  fellow 
was  bending  his  joints  and  kneading  him  all  over  as 
if  he  were  dough.     I  sat  down  by  the  side  of  a  fount- 
ain  and  surrendered  myself  to  the  soft,   enervating 
influence  of  the  atmosphere.     At  first  it  was  oppress- 
ive, but  soon  was  exceedingly  agreeable.     A  youn°- 
Turk,  a  smooth,   handsome  boy,   came   now,  gently 
removed  the  covering  from  my  head  and  shoulders, 
letting  it  fall  loosely  over  my  limbs.     Taking  one  of 
my  arms  he  rubbed  it  with  a  cloth  mitten,  at  first 
softly,  and  then  more  briskly,  with  warm  water.    Then 
he  took  the  other  arm  and  went  through  the  same 
process,  my  neck,  and  back,  and  breast ;  the  cuticle 
seemed  to  roll  up  and  off  as  he  continued  his  manipu- 
lations, and  I  began  to  fear  he  was  skinning  me,  or 
that  I  had  never  been  washed  clean  before.     With 
closed  eyes  and  a  gradual  falling  away  of  conscious- 
ness, I  let  him  complete  the  process  in  his  own  way. 
When  he  had  thus  thoroughly  cleansed  me  from  head 
to  heels  he  took  a  wisp,  or  mop  of  palm  fibres,  like 
tow,  and  lathered  me  with  light  suds,  pouring  it  over 
my  head  and  neck,  piling  it  on  me,  though  it  would 
run  down  on  my  beard,  as  the  ointment  on  Aaron's. 
Dipping  bowls  of  hot  water,  he  poured  them  on  the 
top  of  my  head ;   and  as  it  streamed  in  a  fiery  torrent 
over  my  eye-balls,  I  thought  they  must  be  destroyed. 


248  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

trying  for  mercy.  Taking  a  rest. 

I  dared  not  open  them  to  see  if  I  conld  see ;  but  I 
held  my  hands  tightly  over  my  eyes  while  he  contin- 
ued to  dip  and  pour,  till  endurance  was  no  longer 
possible,  and  I  groaned  to  him  to  have  mercy  on  me 
and  stop.  He  did  rest,  but  for  a  moment  only ;  and 
once  more  covering  me  with  the  lather,  he  repeated 
the  douche  of  hot  water  till  he  was  satisfied ;  for  I 
had  no  words  which  he  could  understand  in  which  to 
convey  my  fears  of  the  fatal  consequences  of  such  a 
scalding  operation.  He  left  me  to  sit  quietly  for  a 
while  and  recover  slowly  from  the  effects.  Returning 
with  dry  napkins,  soft  and  pleasant,  he  rubbed  me 
gently,  and  my  good-nature  came  back  with  the  fric- 
tion, xlfter  he  had  made  a  turban  of  a  towel  and  put 
it  on  my  head,  and  winding  several  folds  of  a  large 
shawl  around  me,  he  led  me  out  through  two  or  three 
successive  chambers,  becoming  gradually  cooler  as 
we  withdrew,  into  the  grand  central  hall,  where  the 
divans  invited  us  again  to  repose.  The  servant  now 
brought  the  chibouque — the  pipe,  with  a  stem  four  or 
five  feet  long,  handsomely  ornamented — and  placing 
the  pipe  in  a  saucer  on  the  floor,  displayed  his  skill 
in  bringing  the  amber  mouth-piece  so  that  it  would 
rest  upon  my  lips.  I  took  a  few  whiffs,  and  then 
another  servant  appeared  with  coffee  in  a  tiny  china 
cup,  and  this  cup  in  another  of  silver  filigree-work. 
The  coffee  is  drunk  without  milk  or  sugar,  black, 
strong,  and  bitter,  not  to  my  taste  at  all;  but  the 
Turks  are  fond  of  it.  I  preferred  the  pleasant  sherbet 
that  followed ;  and  by  this  time  I  was  refreshed  and 
ready  to  be  dressed.     "With  all  the  aches  and  pains 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  249 

On  the  Golden  Horn.  Bridge  of  boats. 

of  a  week  of  hardship  taken  out  of  me,  and  rejoicing- 
like  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race,  I  left  tlie  bath  with 
my  friends,  after  paying  about  twenty-five  cents  for 
the  various  luxuries  of  bathing  and  refreshment  which 
I  had  enjoyed.  Money  must  go  a  long  way  here,  or 
all  this  could  not  be  had  for  a  quarter  of  a  dollar. 

The  Eev.  Dr.  Dwight  called  and  invited  me  to 
make  a  little  excursion  up  the  Golden  Horn,  to  visit 
some  of  the  Mission  families  at  Haskeuy.  We  walked 
down  the  hill  to  Galata,  and  there  engaged  a  caiqii" 
a  canoe-like  boat,  with  each  end  sharp  and  turned  uj? 
so  that  it  rides  on  the  top  of  the  wave,  and  cuts  it 
when  a  swell  comes  up.  In  the  bottom  of  it  we  sit 
on  scarlet  cushions,  and  balance  the  boat  with  care, 
or  it  is  upset  in  a  moment.  The  far-famed  Golden 
Horn,  said  to  be  the  finest  harbor  in  all  the  world, 
sets  up  from  the  Bosphorus,  and  as  we  glided  along 
its  waters,  with  the  mosques  of  Stamboul  on  the  left, 
and  the  palaces  of  Pera  on  the  right,  it  was  indeed 
such  a  sight  of  grandeur  and  beauty  as  the  eye  rarely 
sees. 

A  bridge  on  boats  stretches  across  the  Horn,  uni- 
ting Pera  and  Stamboul.  We  ran  under  this  bridge, 
and  passed  the  Arsenal  and  Admiralty,  near  which 
were  lying  dismantled  ships,  and  one  of  the  steamers 
that  had  escaped  the  destruction  of  the  Turkish  fleet 
in  the  bay  of  Sinope.  The  wounds  in  her  sides  told 
of  the  narrow  escape  she  had  made.  Long  caiques 
with  a  dozen  or  more  in  them,  sometimes  women 
closely  vailed,  sitting  by  themselves,  swept  by  us,  and 
the  whole  bay  was  alive  with  the  various  vessels, 

L* 


250  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  Mission  families.  School. 

steamers,  sails  and  oars  that  were  flying  "back  and 
forth. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  we  reached  Haskeuy,  a 
large  village  chiefly  of  Armenians,  a  short  distance 
"below  the  valley  of  the  Sweet  Waters,  and  an  hour 
above  Pera.  The  Turk  who  rowed  us  was  so  well 
satisfied  with  his  fare,  that  he  gave  me  his  blessing, 
"May  you  be  fruitful,"  with  several  other  equally  in- 
teresting invocations.  Through  the  crooked  and  nar- 
"  -w  streets,  up-hill,  and  along  the  walls  of  gardens, 
J'o  wound  our  way  till  we  reached  the  house  of  the 
£tev.  Mr.  Everett,  in  which  he  has  the  Female  Semin- 
ary. At  once  I  was  at  home  in  a  pleasant  circle  of 
friends.  After  tea,  the  evening  session  of  the  Semin- 
ary was  held.  Thirty-two  girls,  from  various  parts 
of  Asia  Minor,  some  of  them  from  a  very  great  dis- 
tance, are  here  gathered,  to  be  taught,  with  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Christian  religion,  all  the  branches  of 
female  education  essential  to  form  their  minds,  and  fit 
them  for  usefulness  in  the  cities  and  villages  to  which 
they  belong.  They  board  with  the  family  of  Mr. 
Everett,  a  lovely  family,  itself  an  example  that  must 
be  always  speaking  to  these  daughters  of  Asia  of  the 
beauty  and  power  of  a  Christian  home.  The  build- 
ing, once  the  mansion  of  an  Armenian  of  large  means 
and  family,  affords  ample  accommodation  for  the 
Seminary.  The  sitting-room  is  surrounded  with  the 
wide  divan,  which  is  common  in  all  the  Oriental 
houses. 

Entering  the  school-room,  I  was  taken  by  surprise 
when  thirty  young  ladies,  as  good-looking  and  neatly 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  251 


Bright  girls.  Preaching. 

dressed  as  I  should  expect  to  find  in  my  own  coun- 
try, rose  from  their  seats  and  received  me  with  cour- 
tesy.    They  then  resumed  their  studies.     A  brighter 
school  is  rarely  to  be  seen.     When  their  teachers  ad- 
dressed questions  to  them,  they  answered  with  vivac- 
ity  and   promptness,   that   showed   how  much   their 
minds   were   intent  upon  the   studies   pursued.       In 
needle-wo.vk   they   are  very  expert.     Many  of  these 
young  ladies  exhibit  traits  of  character  such  as  give 
the  highest  pleasure   and  hope   to   the  missionaries. 
Their  all-absorbing  desire  is  to  be  qualified  to  teach 
the  youth  in  the  villages  from  which  they  come,  and 
when  they  have  completed  the  course  of  instruction 
here  given,  they  will  return  to  be  greatly  useful.     At 
the  close  of  the  hour's  study  for  the  evening,  they  sung 
a  hymn  in  the  Armenian  language,  "Jerusalem,  my 
happy  home  ;"  and  it  might  have  been  the  associations 
by  which  we  were  surrounded  that  rendered  the  song 
so  sweet  to  me,  yet  I  never  heard  it  with  so  much 
pleasure,    though    I   could   understand    but    the    one 
word  which  rings  so  pleasingly  in  the  Christian's  ear. 
From  the  school-room  we  adjourned  to  the  chapel, 
where  Dr.  Dwight  preached  in  Armenian  to  a  congre- 
gation of  the  village,  assembled  with  the  school  for 
the  Thursday  evening  lecture.    Ignorant  of  the  words, 
it  was  natural  for  me  to  study  the  countenances  of 
the  audience,  and  observe  the  earnestness  with  which 
the  truth  was  received,  the  interest  of  all  in  the  serv- 
ices, and  the  remarkable  similarity  between  this  even- 
ing   meeting    and   those   in   our  religious    circles    at 
home.     The  fez  or  red  cap,   with  a  tassel,   on  the 


252        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Armenian  gentlemen.  Rev.  Dr.  Goodell. 

heads  of  a  few  of  the  Armenians  there,  was  the  only 
peculiarity  in  the  dress  of  the  audience,  and  the  serv- 
ices were  just  the  same  as  we  would  have  at  home. 

After  the  service,  I  met  several  of  the  Armenians 
in  the  parlor,  gentlemen  of  the  village,  who  are  pleased 
to  attend  the  instructions  of  the  missionaries,  though 
they  have  not  yet  left  their  own  church.  One  or  two 
young  men  had  been  in  America,  and  asked  me  ea- 
gerly after  friends  they  had  made.  And  when  they 
had  retired,  what  a  precious  hour,  or  two  or  three,  we 
had  with  those  missionaries,  speaking  often  of  home 
and  blessings  there  to  be  found,  but  much  more  of  the 
work  in  which  they  are  now  engaged,  the  ripe  held 
in  which  they  are  already  reaping  a  rich  harvest,  and 
the  bright  hopes  which  the  future  holds  out  to  the 
faith  and  toil  of  the  laborer.  Here  I  was  in  the  midst 
of  a  circle  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  whose  education, 
intelligence,  manners,  worth,  to  say  nothing  of  other 
attractions  which  always  give  a  charm  to  society, 
would  fit  them  to  grace  any  circle,  as  happy  in  their 
seclusion  as  if  their  highest  ambition  were  reached; 
not  ascetic  in  their  feelings,  nor  canting  about  their 
work,  as  if  they  thought  they  were  sj)ecially  devoted, 
but  cheerful  and  contented,  showing  no  other  than 
that  gentle,  lovely  spirit  which  marks  the  intercourse 
of  intelligent  Christians  in  all  lands. 

The  next  morning  I  breakfasted  with  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Goodell.  He  preaches  in  the  Turkish  language,  and 
is  also  largely  engaged  in  translation,  a  work  for 
which  he  is  well  fitted  byliis  long  residence  in  the 
East.     His  genial  flow  of  good  spirits,  strong  sense, 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  253 


Cemeterr.  Stealing  grave-stones. 


and  earnest  devotion,  constitute  a  delightful  element 
in  the  Mission. 

Keturning  from   Haskeuy  the  next  morning,   we 
landed  above  Pera,  and  came  up  through  the  largest 
of  the  many  Turkish  cemeteries  that  lie  around  the 
city.     Tall  cypresses  in  groves  were  standing  in  the 
midst  of  the  graves.     A  head-stone  with  a  turban  on 
it  marked  the  graves  of  men,  and  a  stone  without  the 
turban  the  graves  of  the  females.     These  stones  are 
lying  scattered  about  the  ground,  which  had  much  the 
appearance  of  being  neglected.     Here    and  there    a 
group  of  women  sat  about  a  grave,  as  if,  like  Mary, 
they  had  come  to  weep  there ;  and  it  is  grateful  any 
where  to  see  signs  of  love,  even  if  it  is  love  in  tears. 
I  wanted  to  bring  away  one  or  two  of  these  broken 
turbans  in  stone ;  which,  indeed,  were  nothing  more 
than  round  heads,  like  marble  cannon  balls;  but  I 
was  told  that  the  Turks  are  very  jealous  of  any  such 
liberties,  and  would  be  greatly  offended  at  the  attempt. 
Some  years   ago  a  clergyman  from  America  helped 
himself  to  two  of  them,  and  had  them  secretly  put  on 
board  the  ship  in  which  he  sailed.     After  he  was  at 
sea  a  storm  came  on,  and  the  sailors,  who  had  discov- 
ered these  bits   of  stolen  tombstone,   attributed  the 
storm  to  the   sacrilege   which  had  been   committed. 
In  the  night  they  quietly  dropped  them  overboard, 
to  the  great  disappointment  of  their  possessor ;   and 
as  the  storm  soon  blew  itself  out,  the  sailors  were 
confirmed  in  their  theory  of  its  cause  and  cure. 

Dec.  16.  It  is  Friday.     It  is  the  Turk's  Sabbath, 
if  they  have  any.     Nothing  that  I  could  see  or  hear 


254        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


Marble  palace. 


gave  any  indication  that  it  differed  from  other  days. 
But  to-day  the  Sultan  goes  in  state  to  the  mosque,  to 
pray.  This  he  does  to  be  seen  of  men  ;  to  set  an  ex- 
ample of  devotion  and  submission  to  God  before  all 
his  people.  It  is  the  time  when  he  is  to  be  seen,  and 
almost  the  only  time. 

He  does  not  repair  to  the  same  mosque  on  every 
occasion,  but  now  to  one,  and  now  another,  that  he 
may  not  confer  the  honor  of  his  company  upon  any 
in  particular,  and  so  make  it  the  mosque  of  the  city. 
But  it  is  announced  on  the  morning  of  Friday  where 
the  monarch  of  Turkey  will  condescend  to  say  his 
prayers,  and  the  route  from  his  palace  to  the  temple 
is  at  once  thronged  with  the  crowd  of  his  subjects 
who  will  now  behold  the  king  in  his  glory.  We 
heard  that  the  procession  would  take  a  course  some 
two  miles  from  us,  and  mounting  our  horses,  dashed 
ofT,  single  file,  through  the  narrow,  muddy  streets, 
threading  our  way  sometimes  with  great  difficulty. 
We  met  the  fat  son  of  the  Pasha  of  Egypt  riding  in 
a  European  carriage  drawn  by  two  horses.  He  is 
here  endeavoring  to  get  the  Sultan's  daughter  in  mar- 
riage. We  were  obliged  to  stop  and  let  him  pass 
slowly  by,  or  we  might  have  had  a  collision.  Outside 
of  the  city,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Bosphorus,  the 
Sultan  has  reared  a  new  and  magnificent  marble  pal- 
ace, on  which  he  has  lavished  all  that  the  modern  art 
of  Europe  and  the  more  luxurious  imagination  of  the 
Oriental  world  can  suggest.  It  is  not  yet  completed ; 
and  we  were  allowed  to  wander  through  its  halls  and 
chambers,  and  admire  the  costly  furniture  and  splen- 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  255 


A  law  broken  down. 


The  cavalcade. 


did  ornaments  with  which  his  Eastern  taste  has  em- 
bellished the  most  sumptuous  palace  in  Europe.  But 
we  shall  lose  the  show  of  the  day  unless  we  hasten 
on.  We  may  ride  by  this  palace  now,  for  the  Sultan 
has  not  yet  taken  up  his  residence  here.  When  he 
is  at  home,  every  horseman,  as  he  passes  the  palace, 
must  dismount  and  walk  by.  This  was  the  rule,  and 
may  be  yet ;  but  I  was  told  that  the  British  Ambas- 
sador, Lord  Stratford  de  RedclifFe,  being  arrested  as 
he  was  about  to  ride  by  the  Sultan's  residence,  imme- 
diately entered,  and  insisting  on  seeing  his  highness, 
denounced  the  order  as  insulting  and  intolerable,  and 
secured  its  relaxation,  at  least,  in  his  own  case.  We 
came  into  the  midst  of  a  dense  crowd,  who  yielded  to 
us,  as  we  were  Franks  and  on  horseback,  and  riding 
through  them,  we  stood  at  the  head  of  the  street 
which  the  royal  procession  was  to  pass.  A  strong- 
guard  kept  back  the  crowd,  and  no  one  was  allowed 
in  the  street  which  the  Sultan  was  to  take.  We  were 
just  in  time.  A  company  of  soldiers,  preceded  by  a 
band  of  music,  marched  by  as  we  came  to  a  halt ; 
and  then  the  chief  officers  of  state,  in  splendid  dress, 
and  mounted  on  noble  Arab  steeds,  rode  slowly  along, 
their  horses  prancing,  as  if  proud  of  the  pageant  of 
which  they  formed  a  part.  Three  horses  richly  ca- 
parisoned, were  led — beautiful  creatures,  belonging  to 
the  Sultan.  Then  came  a  body  of  Janizaries  on  foot ; 
and  in  the  midst  of  them,  on  a  magnificent  black 
horse,  sat  Abdul  Medjid,  the  Sultan  of  Turkey — a 
pale,  thin-faced  man,  of  middle  age,  but  worn  with 
care  and  vice,  of  which  he  is  the  miserable  victim, 


256  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Sultan's  appearance.  Bazaars. 

with  a  downcast  visage ;  and  apparently  unconscious 
that  thousands  were  gazing  at  him,  he  rode  slowly  on. 
As  he  passed  within  a  very  few  feet  of  me,  I  had  a 
fair  opportunity  of  seeing  the  expression  of  his  face. 
I  pitied  him.  His  dress  was  rich,  hut  not  showy — 
a  hlack  cloak,  secured  "by  a  girdle,  and  a  single  dia- 
mond blazed  on  his  "breast.  A  sword  hung  by  his 
side,  and  his  feet  rested  in  golden  stirrups.  He  looked 
neither  to  the  right  or  to  the  left.  No  cheer,  no  mark 
of  respect  from  the  people  greeted  him  as  he  passed. 

The  Sultan  is  now  about  thirty-five  years  old.  His 
private  character  is  said,  by  those  who  have  the  means 
of  knowing,  to  be  exceedingly  profligate.  With  a 
mind  ill  at  ease,  and  a  constitution  enervated  by  sen- 
sual indulgence,  he  will  hardly  survive  his  empire, 
tottering  now  to  its  fall,  and  only  held  up  by  the  bay- 
onets of  foreign  and  detested  powers. 

It  was  raining  hard  when  we  rode  to  the  bazaars 
of  Stamboul.  The  eaves  of  the  houses  pitch  far  over 
the  lower  stories  so  as  to  leave  only  a  small  space  in 
the  middle  of  the  street  uncovered  ;  and  this  was  often 
in  the  very  line  of  march  we  were  compelled  to  take, 
so  that  the  rain  poured  down  upon  us  sometimes  in 
torrents.  We  dashed  on  with  all  the  haste  we  could 
make,  often  encountering  dangers  from  collision,  and 
the  horse  of  one  of  the  company  unfortunately  ran 
down  a  stand  of  fruit  which  a  poor  Mussulman  was 
trying  to  sell.  The  accident  made  no  small  stir,  which 
was  finally  settled  by  the  payment  of  a  few  piastres, 
probably  more  than  the  man  would  have  earned  at  his 
traffic  in  the  course  of  the  day. 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  257 

Covered  streets.  The  women. 

We  were  out  of  the  rain  the  moment  we  entered  the 
bazaars ;  streets  of  shops  but  a  single  story  high, 
more  like  large  closets  than  stores,  are  covered  over, 
with  windows  in  the  roof  to  admit  light.  The  pro- 
prietor of  each  establishment  sits  cross-legged  and 
smoking,  apparently  quite  indifferent  whether  any  one 
buys  or  not,  and  an  assistant  stands  ready  to  display 
the  goods,  to  boast  of  their  qualities  and  amazing 
cheapness.  The  narrow  streets  or  passages  between 
the  rows  of  the  stalls  are  crowded  with  purchasers, 
chiefly  the  vailed  Turkish  women,  who  seem  to  take 
pleasure  in  using  their  musical  voices  in  haggling 
about  prices  ;  while  then  ever-roving  eyes  are  watch- 
ing the  merchant-man,  and  especially  his  Frank  cus- 
tomers, if  any  of  them  are  near. 

Yet  within  these  rooms — so  small  that  a  tenth-rate 
shop-keeper  would  not  think  them  adequate  to  his 
business  in  New  York,  more  like  cobblers'  stalls  than 
the  stores  of  merchants — are  fabrics  and  goods  of  un- 
told value ;  piles  of  India  shawls,  and  rich  embroidered 
silks,  and  robes  of  splendid  color,  that  would  be  the 
glory  of  any  establishment  in  Broadway.  Each  street 
is  confined  to  a  distinct  branch  of  merchandise,  and 
this  practice  is  more  common  in  European  cities  than 
in  America.  The  customer  stands  in  the  street  and 
examines  the  goods  as  they  are  laid  out  on  a  bench  be- 
fore him,  and  if  he  wishes  to  see  more  samples  than 
are  there  exposed,  he  may  step  in  and  have  the  whole 
interior  laid  open  to  his  inspection. 

We  were  in  the  shawl  department,  and  the  mer- 
chant very  politely  invited  us  to  walk  in ;  a  smaller 


258  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Jewels.  ^lavc-market. 

room  was  behind  the  front,  and  here  were  piles  of 
costly  robes,  that  would  be  a  modest  fortune,  exposed 
in  all  their  tempting  brilliancy  and  beauty,  while  the 
prices  were  stated  at  the  highest  conceivable  mark. 
We  made  him  an  offer,  something  like  a  third  of  what, 
he  demanded,  and  the  shawl  was  ours  in  a  moment. 

On  we  wandered  through  long  rows  of  jewellers' 
shops,  admiring  the  gems  that  are  to  glitter  on  the 
arms  and  breasts  of  the  fair  women  of  the  East ;  gold 
and  silver  wrought  in  forms  of  beauty  to  make  beauty 
more  attractive,  and  diamonds  in  clusters,  constella- 
tions sparkling  with  living  light,  set  and  unset,  whieh 
were  offered  to  us  as  if  we  had  bags  of  gold  to  leave 
in  exchange  for  these  precious  stones.  One  street  was 
wholly  occupied  with  drags,  the  odor  of  which  was 
not  unpleasant.  We  returned  to  the  fancy  depart- 
ments, and  made  some  further  investments  in  embroid- 
ered bags,  a  few  drops  of  the  ottar  of  roses,  etc.,  and 
then  sought  our  horses,  which  had  been  tended  at  the 
entrance  for  the  couple  of  hours  we  had  devoted  to 
this  entertaining  stroll  through  the  bazaars  of  Constan- 
tinople. 

Antonio  now  brought  us,  after  a  long  ride,  to  the 
slave-market.  On  one  side  of  an  open  square  was  a 
row  of  boxes  or  stalls  without  windows,  and  the  doors 
closely  shut.  As  Ave  came  up,  a  man  in  European 
dress  stepped  up  and  asked,  in  French,  if  we  would 
look  at  the  girls ;  and  immediately  opened  the  door 
of  one  of  the  pens.  Instead  of  seeing  half  a  dozen 
beautiful  Circassians,  whose  charms  have  been  the 
theme    of  so   much   poetry   and   prose,    four   or  five 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  259 

No  whites.  More  wives. 

African  women,  dark  as  night,  fat  and  funny,  jumped 
up,  and  laughing  merrily,  desired  us  to  buy  them. 
Decidedly  we  had  no  inclination  to  make  the  pur- 
chase;  and  the  dealer,  seeing  that  we  were  merely 
gratifying  our  curiosity,  slammed  the  door,  and  turned 
on  his  heel.  Other  men  on  the  ground  had  a  supply 
of  these  Nubian  women  for  sale;  but  if  there  were 
any  whites  in  the  market,  we  were  told  that  Franks 
are  not  allowed  to  look  at  them.  As  they  are  bought 
only  for  the  harems  of  the  Turk,  the  profaner  eyes  of 
the  European  must  not  see  them  before  or  after  they 
enter  that  impenetrable  retreat.  These  are  brought  to 
the  market  by  their  parents  and  friends,  and  often 
are  children  of  the  most  respectable  families  in  their 
own  country,  who  are  thus  disposed  of  in  the  way  of 
marriage  perfectly  consistent  with  the  Oriental  ideas 
of  domestic  happiness,  however  it  may  be  revolting 
to  ours.  I  had  quite  an  argument  with  a  Turkish 
merchant  on  this  subject.  He  would  not  admit  me, 
of  course,  into  his  harem ;  but  the  door  that  led  into 
it  was  frequently  left  open,  and  never  failed  to  dis- 
close one  or  more  of  his  wives,  who  disappeared  after 
we  had  exchanged  glances.  I  told  him  that  one  wife 
was  enough  if  she  was  good,  and  too  many  if  she  was 
bad.  He  replied,  that  if  she  was  good,  the  more  of 
the  same  sort  the  better ;  and  if  she  was  bad,  he  must 
get  a  good  one  to  console  him  for  his  disappointment 
in  the  other.  He  said  he  had  six,  and  loves  them 
all,  and  they  love  him ;  and  not  one  of  them  wishes 
to  leave  him.  My  arguments  were  all  wasted ;  and 
I  left  him  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  field  and  the  harem. 


260        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Slave  boys.  Shooting  a  wife. 

Slavery  among  the  Turks  is  about  the  same  as 
adoption  into  the  family.  The  boy,  "bought  of  the 
trader,  rises  to  the  rank  of  his  owner,  becomes  a 
member  of  the  state,  may  be  an  officer  of  the  govern- 
ment, take  the  daughter  of  the  Sultan  to  be  his  wife, 
and  aspire  to  the  throne.  But  the  power  of  the  mas- 
ter is  absolute  over  the  slave ;  and  the  lordly  Turk, 
not  the  Sultan  only,  but  his  ministers  and  his  rich 
subjects,  surrounded  with  their  harems  of  fair  wo- 
men, bought  with  their  money,  and  brought  here  in 
the  budding  loveliness  of  youth  from  the  vales  of 
Georgia  and  Circassia,  do  not  hesitate  to  gratify  their 
unbridled  passions  at  any  sacrifice  in  the  exercise  of 
their  unlimited  power.  Not  long  since,  one  of  the 
Sultan's  present  ministers  accused  one  of  his  wives 
of  stealing  a  trinket  that  belonged  to  another.  She 
denied  the  charge  with  the  warm  indignation  of  in- 
jured innocence.  In  her  youthful  beauty  she  stood  up 
before  him  as  he  sat  on  the  crimson  divan ;  and  the 
whole  bevy  of  his  wives  gathered  around  to  see  the 
trial  of  the  accused,  now  trembling  before  her  lord  and 
master.  She  could  only  assert  her  innocence,  while 
he  repeated  the  charge ;  and  drawing  a  pistol  from  his 
girdle,  shot  her  through  the  heart.  The  frightened 
women  fled  from  the  shocking  scene,  as  she  fell  bleed- 
ing and  dead  at  the  monster's  feet.  How  common 
these  things  are,  no  man  can  say;  but  that  such 
things  are  not  uncommon,  even  at  the  present  day, 
there  is  too  much  reason  to  fear. 

Dr.  Dwight  very  kindly  consented  to  be  our  guide 
to   make  a  visit  to  the  Howling  Dervishes.      Their 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  261 

Turkish  pun.  Cook-shop. 

chief  place  of  worship,  if  such  a  name  may  be  given 
to  the  horrid  orgies  we  witnessed,  is  over  at  Scutari. 
Two  or  three  caiques  were  needed  to  convey  the  party 
across  the  Bosphorus,  and  we  had  a  charming  excur- 
sion among  the  shipping,  and  always  getting  new 
and  more  beautiful  views  of  the  wonderful  sights  that 
surround  this  unrivaled  "bay.  Our  "boatman  was  a 
humorous  fellow,  and  asked  us  if  we  would  have  a 
chibouque,  at  the  same  time  handing  his  pipe.  Dr. 
D wight  answered,  "No,  but  chabuque,"  which  means 
quickly.  He  took  the  pun,  dropped  the  pipe  and 
pulled  away,  laughing  heartily,  and  soon  landed  us  at 
Scutari. 

It  was  early  for  dinner,  but  we  should  not  return 
till  late,  and  having  a  desire  to  taste  the  quality  of  a 
native  cook-shop,  we  found  one,  and  ordered  the  best 
the  house  would  afford.  We  were  led  up  a  pair  of 
rickety  stairs  to  a  dirty  floor  overhead,  and  sat  down 
on  low  stools  around  a  table  a  foot  high.  Through 
an  opening  in  the  floor  we  could  see  the  process  of 
cooking  going  on  below.  The  men  who  had  charge 
of  this  operation  cut  up  the  mutton  into  bits  an  inch 
square,  and  running  a  wire  through  twenty  or  more 
of  them,  hung  them  over  a  kettle  of  burning  charcoal. 
Several  rows  of  these  bits  of  meat  were  thus  suspend- 
ed, and  while  the  process  was  going  on,  a  dish  of  soup 
and  a  mixture  of  stewed  squash,  cabbage,  onions,  and 
garlic,  were  brought  up,  and  at  length  the  broiled 
meat,  called  Kabawb,  and  the  most  popular  of  dishes, 
was  set  before  us.  As  this  was  very  fair,  and  cooked 
in  a  primitive  way,  we  had  no  difficulty,  after  season- 


262        EUKOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Howling  Dervishes.  Excitement. 

ing  it  for  ourselves,  in  making  a  dinner.  The  soup 
and  the  stew  we  left  for  those  who  might  follow  us 
with  stronger  stomachs. 

Thus  fortified  we  set  off  for  the  Dervishes,  whom 
we  found  after  a  walk  of  half  a  mile.  Their  place  of 
meeting  stands  back  from  the  street,  a  very  plain  and 
unpretending  "building.  At  the  vestibule  we  were  re- 
quested to  put  off  our  shoes,  as  we  must  in  entering 
any  sacred  place  of  the  Mohammedans.  The  room 
we  entered  was  low  and  unfurnished,  about  forty  feet 
square,  and  a  railing  running  around  three  sides  of  it 
a  few  feet  from  the  wall.  The  worshippers  only  en- 
tered within  the  rail.  In  the  middle  of  the  other  side, 
on  a  beautiful  mat  of  long  and  dyed  wool,  stood  the 
aged  Sheikh,  or  high  priest  of  this  singular  people. 
As  each  one  came  in,  he  kissed  the  hand  of  the 
Sheikh,  and  then  took  his  stand  in  the  order  of  en- 
trance near  the  rail.  When  the  whole  number  ex- 
pected had  arrived,  two  of  the  oldest  men  knelt  oppo- 
site to  each  other  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  rising, 
began  a  low  murmur,  a  deep  guttural  sound,  which 
was  taken  up  by  all  who  were  standing  around. 
Swaying  their  bodies  back  and  forth,  swinging  their 
arms  in  the  same  way,  sinking  down  and  springing 
suddenly  erect,  as  if  performing  gymnastic  exercises, 
all  the  while  ascending  in  the  scale  with  their  noise, 
which  soon  assumed  a  howl,  painful  and  even  fearful 
to  hear.  It  was  shocking;  yet  the  novelty  of  the 
scene  made  it  endurable.  As  the  violence  of  the  ac- 
tion and  the  howling  increased,  some  of  them  frothed 
at  the  mouth  and  gave  signs  of  being  possessed  with 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  263 

Torture.  Miracle  working. 

the  devil,  or  some  other  evil  spirit.  I  looked  up  at 
the  wall,  and  there  were  drums  and  rude  cymbals, 
which  they  might  use  to  increase  this  din  now  swollen 
to  a  roar.  And  there,  too,  were  knives,  and  steel  rods, 
and  instruments  of  torture,  which,  in  the  frenzy  rapid- 
ly gaining  on  them,  they  might  seize  aud  plunge  into 
themselves  or  others.  For  the  space  of  an  hour,  and 
a  long,  tedious  hour  it  was,  they  kept  up  this  howl- 
ing, using  no  form  of  words,  unless  it  was  an  unin- 
telligible repetition  of  the  Moslem  cry,  "  God  is  great 
and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet."  They  were  now 
reeking  with  perspiration,  and  the  noise  was  lessening 
from  the  exhaustion  of  the  fanatical  devotees,  when 
the  Sheikh  stepped  forth  into  the  midst  of  the  room, 
and  all  was  silent  while  he  lifted  up  his  hands  and 
prayed.  He  called  upon  God  to  bless  the  Sultan, 
and  to  endow  him  with  wisdom,  strength,  and  long 
life.  He  prayed  for  the  government  and  people,  and 
closed  with  an  Amen,  which  he  often  repeated  in  the 
course  of  his  prayer.  One  after  another  of  the  Der- 
vishes then  approached  him,  knelt,  rose,  received  his 
patriarchal  benediction,  and  retired.  The  old  man  re- 
turned to  his  mat,  and  children  were  brought  in  to  be 
healed  of  their  diseases  by  his  miraculous  power. 
The  first  was  a  babe  not  two  years  old,  wound  up, 
after  their  fashion,  in  many  folds  of  cloth,  so  that  it 
can  move  neither  hands  nor  feet.  It  was  placed  on 
the  floor  upon  its  face,  and  the  Sheikh,  who  would 
weigh  certainly  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds, 
placed  one  foot  across  its  legs,  and  then  carefully  rais- 
ing the  other,  placed  it  on  the  middle  of  the  back,  and 


264  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Standing  on  children.  Dancing  Dervishes. 

stood  with  his  whole  weight  upon  the  child.  He 
stepped  off  cautiously,  and  the  servant  took  up  the 
babe,  which  seemed  to  he  unharmed  by  the  pressure. 
Another  was  brought  in  and  served  in  the  same  way, 
and  another.  Then  children  of  five  and  six  years  old 
entered,  kissed  his  hand,  prostrated  themselves,  and 
after  he  had  planted  himself  upon  them,  they  jumped 
up  and  ran  out,  as  if  pleased  with  the  operation. 
Adult  men,  who  appeared  to  be  infirm,  followed,  and 
received  him  on  their  backs,  and  some  of  them  on 
their  breasts.  No  instantaneous  effect  for  the  better 
was  to  be  observed,  and  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  there  was  any  thing  more  in  the  thing  than  a 
delusive  notion  that  this  man  had  the  power  of  heal- 
ing, through  the  very  extraordinary  and  hazardous 
experiment  of  treading  disease  under  his  feet. 

When  this  was  over,  a  few  of  the  Dancing  Der- 
vishes, dressed  better  than  the  Howlers — the  most  of 
whom  appeared  to  be  a  low  class  of  people,  and  quite 
shabby  at  that — took  the  floor,  and  went  through  their 
performance.  They  are  sometimes  called  Whirling 
Dervishes,  and  this  is  much  the  more  appropriate 
term,  for  they  merely  turn  slowly  round  and  round 
on  one  heel,  with  extended  amis,  and  revolving  about 
their  chief,  who  stands  in  the  centre  of  the  room. 

This  exhibition  of  the  Howlers  was  less  frantic 
than  was  often  witnessed  in  former  times.  Then 
they  were  known  to  seize  burning  iron  in  their  hands, 
and  to  thrust  red  hot  hooks  and  wires  into  each 
other's  flesh ;  some  would  be  carried  off  fainting,  and 
others  in  fits.     I  was  told  that  not  long  ago  a  party 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  265 

Madmen.  A  lady  smoking. 

of  them  began  their  orgies  on  the  deck  of  a  steamer 
when  coming  from  Trebizond,  and  getting  wild  with 
excitement,  they  drew  their  knives  and  began  an  in- 
discriminate murder  of  all  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on.  The  officers  of  the  vessel,  being  armed,  fell  upon 
them  and  dispatched  them  on  the  spot.  These  people 
have  a  convent  at  Scutari,  but  they  perform  at  Pera 
and  in  Stamboul,  receiving  any  contributions  that 
spectators  may  be  pleased  to  give  them. 

In  the  evening  I  called  on  a  lady  from  "New  York, 
who  has  married  and  settled  here  at  Pera.  Pipes  and 
coffee  were  served,  and  when  I  declined  smoking,  the 
lady  insisted,  and  offered  to  join  me.  There  was  no 
resisting  this ;  and  her  husband  giving  her  a  delicate 
cigarette,  she  smoked  it  beautifully,  though  I  confess 
I  was  thinking  all  the  time  "  what  would  they  say  at 
home"  to  see  her  with  a  cigar  in  her  mouth,  and  me 
With  a  pipe  four  feet  long. 

There  is  very  little  intercourse  between  foreign 
ladies  residing  here  and  the  Turkish  women ;  but  the 
prejudice  of  the  Turks  is  gradually  wearing  away, 
and  they  meet  more  frequently  now  than  formerly. 
Several  ladies  of  the  American  Mission  called  a  short 
time  since  upon  the  wives  of  one  of  the  high  officers 
of  state :  they  were  courteously  received,  and  treated 
With  great  hospitality.  It  was  painful  to  our  ladies 
to  discover  the  utter  destitution  of  all  intellectual  cul- 
ture in  those  Oriental  women.  They  seemed  to  be 
merely  grown  up  children.  The  questions  they  asked 
Were  frivolous ;  for  instance,  "  Have  you  husbands 
that  you  like  ?" 
Vol.  IL— M 


266  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

So  social  life.  Origin  of  vails. 

Among  themselves  the  Turks  have  no  social  life. 
Their  enjoyment  is  altogether  of  the  selfish  and  indi- 
vidual kind,  and  every  man  would  be  happier  in  the 
idea  that  his  neighbor  had  never  looked  on  the  face  of 
his  wives,  rather  than  that  his  treasures  are  admired. 
This  is  said  to  be  the  origin  of  the  practice  now  uni- 
versal among  the  Eastern  women,  of  wearing  a  thick 
vail.  A  man  who  had  got  possession  of  a  beautiful 
wife,  kept  her  vailed,  lest  his  more  powerful  neighbor 
should  tear  her  away  from  him  by  fraud  or  force. 
Yet  I  pitied  the  poor  creatures  whose  soft  black  eyes, 
looking  wishfully  out  of  that  impenetrable  shroud,  ex- 
pressed the  sense  of  confinement  and  degradation  to 
which  they  were  hopelessly  doomed. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

CONSTANTINOPLE. 

A  Firman — The  Seraglio  Palace — Audience  and  Throne  Room — 
Harem — Armory — Bedchamber —  Kitchen — Stables — Mosque  of 
Santa  Sophia — Tombs  of  the  Sultan — Shores  of  the  Bosphorus — 
Europe  and  Asia — Giant's  Mountain — Egyptian  Sailors — Allied 
Fleets — Kandali — Bebek — The  Missionaries  and  their  "Work. 

To  visit  the  mosques  and  the  Seraglio  Palace  a 
firman  or  permit  must  be  had  from  the  government, 
and  that  is  to  be  paid  for  roundly.  An  officer  or  two 
must  attend  with  his  sword  and  staff,  and  they  must 
be  feed  well.  Then  at  every  mosque  and  other  sacred 
place  you  visit  there  are  servants  to  be  feed,  and  if  a 
party  get  through  the  day's  excursion  for  forty  dollars 
they  do  very  well.  Mr.  Brown,  the  Dragoman  of  the 
United  States  Legation,  kindly  procured  for  us  a 
firman,  and  sent  his  own  cevasse  to  lead  us.  The 
government  sent  another,  so  that  we  were  well  pro- 
vided with  an  escort.  Several  ladies  joined  our  party, 
and  added  largely  to  the  pleasure  of  that  delightful 
and  interesting  day. 

Where  the  Golden  Horn  sets  up  from  the  Bospho- 
rus the  old  city  of  Byzantium  stood,  and  Mohammed 
II.  selected  this  unrivaled  site  for  his  palace,  and  laid 
out  the  grounds,  and  prepared  a  residence  that  had  no 
equal  in  the  Eastern  world.  Armed  sentinels  ad- 
mitted us  by  the  great  pavilion,  which  is  called  the 


268        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Seraglio.  The  harem. 

Porte — a  gate,  and  from  this  the  Ottoman  Empire  takes 
its  name.  Fifty  men  are  the  usual  guard  at  this  door. 
We  were  at  once  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  court-yard 
(the  whole  palace  grounds  are  three  miles  in  circuit), 
and  passing  across  it  we  were  conducted  into  the 
palace.  A  flight  of  stairs  brought  us  to  the  audience- 
chamber,  a  wide  apartment,  carpeted  and  surrounded 
with  a  rich  divan.  The  throne  room  was  furnished 
with  chairs  and  sofas,  showing  a  conformity  to  West- 
ern customs.  Another  and  another  chamber,  and  we 
entered  the  Sultan's  bath — luxuriously  fitted  up,  but 
without  some  of  the  contrivances  for  comfort  which 
poorer  people  enjoy.  A  brass  bar  across  a  door  we 
were  passing,  told  us,  or  at  least  the  guides  informed 
us,  that  this  was  the  entrance  to  the  harem.  No 
profane  foot  may  cross  that  threshold.  No  man  but 
the  husband  is  allowed  to  enter  the  Turk's  apartments 
for  his  wives.  But  a  long  gallery  opening  near  we 
now  entered,  hung  on  one  side  with  engravings,  chiefly 
of  Napoleon's  battles  ;  and  on  the  other  side,  a  row  of 
windows  looked  out  on  the  court.  This  is  the  hall  in 
which  the  hundred  and  fifty  wives  of  the  Sultan  are 
daily  assembled  for  the  amusement  of  their  common 
lord.  Here  each  one  of  them  may  exert  her  art  to 
win  his  favor ;  and  it  is  said  that  he  drops  his  hand- 
kerchief at  the  feet  of  the  one  who  has  been  the  most 
successful.  Through  this  hall  we  were  led  along  to 
the  private  armory  of  the  Sultan,  and  while  admiring 
the  pistols,  swords,  dirks,  yataghans,  cimeters,  sa- 
bres, etc.,  of  elegant  workmanship,  adorned  with  gold 
and  precious  stones,  my  attention  was  called  to  an 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  269 

Bedchamber.  Cottages  for  wives. 

adjoining  apartment,  the  Sultan's  bedchamber.  Two 
janizaries  with  bayoneted  guns  stood  before  the  open 
door,  and  permitted  me  to  look  in,  but  not  enter.  It 
was  reported  among  the  company  in  the  other  room, 
that  gentlemen  were  not  allowed  to  go  in ;  and  the 
ladies,  presuming  on  their  privilege,  hastened  to  step 
in,  but  the  crossed  guns  of  the  guards  brought  them 
to  a  sudden  halt  on  the  threshold.  We  could  see  the 
magnificent  couch  and  its  gold  and  crimson  damask 
canopy,  and  the  sumptuous  furniture  of  the  chamber, 
where  the  most  uneasy  man  in  the  Turkish  empire 
has  often  sought  in  vain  for  sleep,  that  comes  unwooed 
to  him  who  earns  it  with  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  and 
does  not  wear  a  crown. 

In  the  gardens  of  the  palace,  and  near  the  water's 
edge,  are  many  beautiful  but  small  cottages,  which 
from  time  to  time  have  been  erected  at  the  desire  of 
one  or  another  of  the  Stdtan's  favorite  wives.  Fitted 
up  according  to  the  taste  of  each  fair  inmate,  we  could 
see  in  the  low  windows  that  open  on  the  walks  that 
they  were  very  elegant,  and  very  Oriental.  The  Sul- 
tan has  the  range  of  them  all,  as  cages  in  which  his 
pet  birds  are  confined.  And  then  we  gathered  some 
flowers ;  for  in  the  last  of  December  the  roses  were 
in  full  bloom  in  the  open  air,  and  every  thing  was 
fresh  and  green  as  May.  Underneath  the  palace  was 
the  kitchen,  and  fires  going  as  if  an  army  were  to  be 
fed  from  the  great  ranges  and  furnaces  on  which  the 
dinner  was  even  now  cooking.  Some  of  the  pastry 
was  served  to  us,  and  proved  to  be  excellent,  though 
we  did  eat  it  in  the  kitchen.    Yon  Hammer  says  that 


270  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Armor}-. 


there  are  nine  several  kitchens,  and  that  forty  thou- 
sand oxen  are  yearly  killed  here  and  cooked,  two 
hundred  sheep  daily,  one  hundred  lambs  or  goats, 
and  850  fowls.  But  the  Sultan  does  not  reside  in 
the  Seraglio ;  he  is  at  one  of  his  many  palaces  along 
the  Bosphorus,  and  the  cooking  now  in  process  was 
merely  for  the  retainers  of  the  palace.  His  future  resi- 
dence will  be  in  the  marble  palace  on  the  Bosphorus. 

A  thousand  horses  stand  in  the  royal  stables,  which 
we  passed  on  our  way  out ;  and  the  harness  and  trap- 
pings, covered  with  jewelry,  are  displayed  in  a  room 
over  the  stalls. 

It  required  an  hour  to  look  through  the  old  armory, 
containing  one  of  the  rarest  and  richest  collections  of 
helmets,  greaves,  breast-plates  in  form  of  stars,  guns 
of  strange  patterns  in  use  before  locks  were  invented, 
and  implements  of  war  now  obsolete,  but  terribly 
effective  in  their  day,  and  very  curious  now.  The 
stacks  of  arms  all  ready  for  use  were  fast  diminishing 
by  the  daily  demand  for  the  war ;  and  probably  some 
of  the  poor  fellows  that  came  on  the  steamer  with  me 
were  by  this  time  equipped  from  this  armory  and 
marching  to  the  field.  In  a  gallery  was  a  collection 
of  the  famous  swords  of  successive  Sultans,  from  the 
splendid  Damascus  blade  of  Mohammed  II.  Here, 
too,  are  the  keys  of  all  the  cities  of  Turkey,  mounted 
with  gold,  and  deposited  in  token  of  their  fealty  to 
the  Porte.  For  days  one  might  be  amused  and  in- 
structed among  these  extraordinary  gatherings  of 
ancient  and  modern  times.  But  we  are  now  to  enter 
upon  a  very  different  scene. 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  271 

lues.  Splendid,  columns. 

The  first  sight  that  fixed  our  eyes  as  we  came  into 
the  harbor  was  the  dome  of  St.  Sophia  shining  radi- 
antly in  the  light  of  the  rising  sun,  its  four  proud 
minarets  gleaming  at  its  side.  We  are  about  to  en- 
ter its  courts.  Its  history  is  a  tale  of  more  than 
tragic  interest,  but  we  must  not  stop  to  tell  it  now. 
It  was  built  by  Justinian,  the  Emperor,  and  com- 
pleted a.d.  538.  The  world  was  made  to  pay  tribute, 
to  this  temple,  dedicated  to  the  Divine  Wisdom,  and 
so  named  Santa  Sophia.  We  come  to  the  door  and 
take  off  our  shoes ;  for  no  foot  that  has  trod  the  un- 
hallowed earth  may  stand  in  these  sacred  precincts. 
By  a  winding  path,  in  total  darkness,  we  feel  our  way 
up  by  the  tower,  and  come  into  the  gallery  for  the 
women,  from  which  we  look  down  on  the  interior  of 
the  temple.  The  vast  area  startles  us  at  once ;  but 
we  soon  begin  to  admire  its  proportions,  and  then  to 
contemplate  the  wonderful  variety  and  beauty  of  its 
pillars  and  walls.  Four  huge  columns  support  a  glo- 
rious dome,  and  four  more  hold  semicircular  cupolas 
on  each  side.  These  columns  are  of  porphyry,  and 
once  stood  in  the  Eoman  Temple  of  the  Sun.  Those 
green  granite  pillars  supporting  the  gallery  once  adorn- 
ed the  temple  of  the  great  goddess  Diana  of  the  Ephe- 
sians.  There  are  forty  columns,  some  of  serpentine 
marble,  some  of  Egyptian  granite,  and  others  of  white 
marble,  with  rose-colored  stripes,  and  all  of  them  plun- 
dered from  the  temples  of  paganism ;  so  that  this  tem- 
ple is  sustained  by  the  pillars  of  "  Isis  and  Osiris, 
of  the  Sun  and  the  Moon  at  Heliopolis  and  Ephesus, 
of  Pallas   at  Athens,   of  Phoebus   at  Delos,  and  of 


272  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Moslems  at  prayer.  The  Muezzam. 

Cybele  at  Cyzicus."  The  walls  are  of  polished  mar- 
He,  and  the  paved  floor  is  covered  with  Turkey  car- 
pets and  mats.  Overhead  and  around  on  the  walls 
are  inscriptions  from  the  Koran,  instead  of  paintings, 
and  the  place  is  shown  where  the  gold  letters  and 
stars  are  made  to  conceal  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 
which  was  an  ornament  of  the  temple  before  Moham- 
med wrested  it  from  the  Christians  and  defiled  its 
courts  with  his  Moslem  troops. 

We  will  go  down  upon  the  floor  of  the  mosque  and 
mingle  with  the  worshippers.  They  are  not  numer- 
ous now,  for  it  is  not  the  hour  for  prayer.  But  here 
and  there  a  devout  Mussulman  on  his  knees  has  his 
Koran  before  him,  on  a  little  bench  inlaid  with  moth- 
er-of-pearl. He  is  reading  from  it  in  a  wailing  kind 
of  strain.  There  is  one  of  the  Ulemas,  or  teachers 
of  the  people,  sitting  upon  a  mat,  and  expounding  the 
Koran  to  a  group  kneeling  around  him.  These  steps 
lead  up  to  the  platform  where  the  Sultan  ascends  to 
pray  when  he  comes  to  this  mosque.  Hark!  the 
Muezzim,  or  crier,  has  gone  up  the  minaret,  and  with 
a  loud  voice,  to  be  heard  by  all  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
temple,  he  calls  upon  the  people"  to  leave  their  work 
and  come  to  prayers.  They  obey  the  summons  ;  and 
hastily  washing  themselves  at  the  fountain  in  the 
court,  they  enter  and  kneel,  and  rise  and  kneel,  and 
touch  their  heads  to  the  floor,  taking  the  various  atti- 
tudes which  every  Mohammedan  must  go  through, 
however  frequent  his  devotions. 

From  St.  Sophia  we  went  to  several  other  mosques 
of  more  or  less  distinction,  but  none  of  them  so  dis- 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  273 


Tombs  of  the  Sultans.  Alarms. 

tinguislied  as  this  in  history,  nor  so  gloriously  adorn- 
ed with  the  spoils  of  other  temples  and  works  of  art. 
We  also  visited  the  tombs  of  the  Sultans.  A  small 
temple — a  mausoleum — we  entered,  and  were  im- 
pressed with  the  solemn  stillness  that  reigned  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  gorgeous  decorations  which  could 
be  gathered  over  the  remains  of  the  dead.  An  im- 
mense sarcophagus  contains  the  bones  of  the  present 
Sultan's  father.  It  is  covered  with  black  velvet,  and 
surmounted  by  a  cap  and  feathers ;  and  before  it  are 
standing  immense  candles,  or  imitations  of  them. 
Near  to  his  side  are  small  coffins,  covered  and  enrich- 
ed with  ornaments,  containing  the  ashes  of  the  mother 
and  sisters  of  the  Sultan.  A  great  number  of  small 
lamps  are  suspended  over  the  bodies,  as  indeed  there 
are  long  rows  of  similar  lamps  in  all  the  mosques, 
which,  when  lighted,  would  shine  as  distant  stars 
over  the  immense  space  they  are  expected  to  fill. 

In  all  the  mosques  were  great  piles  of  merchandise, 
boxes  and  bales,  stowed  away  in  the  galleries.  These 
were  taken  by  the  priests  having  charge  of  the  holy 
places,  who  keep  them  here  for  safety,  the  owners 
paying  for  the  storage.  They  are  perfectly  protected, 
even  if  the  people  should  break  out  in  an  insurrection, 
for  no  Mussulman  would  invade  the  sanctuary  for  the 
sake  of  plunder. 

We  found,  on  our  return  to  our  lodgings,  that  our 
friends  had  been  much  alarmed  on  our  account  dur- 
ing the  day.  It  was  reported  that  an  outbreak  had 
occurred,  in  consequence  of  the  government  having 
yielded  too   much  to   the   demands   of  Russia;  and 

M* 


274        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


that  the  priests  had  excited  the  faithful  to  insurrec- 
tion. In  the  morning,  word  was  sent  to  our  hotel 
that  it  would  not  he  safe  for  us  to  go  over  to  Stam- 
boul,  but  we  were  off  before  the  messenger  reached 
us  ;  and  we  saw  nothing,  during  the  whole  excursion, 
that  looked  like  a  disturbance. 

At  Tophane  we  found  a  caique  and  a  couple  of 
stout  fellows  to  row,  and  we  set  off,  on  a  bright  morn- 
ing, to  make  the  trip  up  and  down  the  Bosphorus. 
The  jpoetry  °f  boating  is  to  sit  down  in  the  bottom 
of  a  caique,  with  a  book  or  the  friend  you  wish  for 
company,  and  be  pulled  gently  along  these  enchant- 
ing shores.  There  is  no  other  water  in  the  wide 
world  presenting  so  many  and  such  beauties  in  the 
reach  of  twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 

After  passing  the  new  mosque  of  the  Sultan's 
mother,  and  then  the  new  palace  of  the  Sultan, 
which,  a  few  years  ago,  we  could  not  venture  to  pass 
without  lowering  our  umbrellas,  we  come  into  the 
midst  of  villages,  and  country-seats — Mosques — of  the 
wealthy  Turks,  so  placed  upon  the  water's  edge,  and 
so  near  to  eacli  other,  that  they  form,  for  long  dis- 
tances, an  unbroken  series.  They  are  not  more  than 
two  stories  high,  and  the  upper  windows  are  pro- 
tected by  the  lattice  blinds — -jalousies — behind  which 
the  women  may  be  peeking  out  at  us  as  we  are  pass- 
ing, but  we  can  see  nothing  of  them.  The  water  is 
deep,  and  the  channel  runs  so  near  to  the  shores  that 
the  bowsprit  of  a  vessel  sometimes  intrudes  without 
ceremony  into  the  very  bosom  of  the  family.  The 
summer  palaces  are  surrounded  by  beautiful  gardens, 


CONSTANTINOPLE. 


Memorable  places. 


and  where  the  shores  rise  rapidly,  they  hang,  as  it 
were,  over  the  houses,  and  disclose  their  fruits,  flow- 
ers, walks,  and  towering  cypresses,  to  the  admiring- 
eye  of  the  passer-by.     Fable  and  history  have  made 
many  of  these  scenes  famous.     The  tomb  of  the  great 
Turkish  hero,  Barbarossa,  is  here ;  and  a  little  further 
up  we  come  to  the  spot  where  was  a  tree,  called  the 
laurel  of  Medea,  planted  by  Medea  on  landing  with 
Jason,  on  his  return  from  Colchis.     Here,  too,  was 
the  church  which  Constantine  erected  in  honor  of  the 
Archangel  Michael;    where   Symeon  the  Stylite  re- 
ceived the  adoration  of  the  multitudes  while  he  lived 
for  years  on  the  top  of  a  column  more  than  a  hundred 
feet  high.     The  lovely  village  of  Bebek,  now  a  mis- 
sionary station,  was  once  the  seat  of  a  splendid  Im- 
perial palace ;  and  it  would  be  hard  to  imagine  a  more 
beautiful  situation  than  this  and  the  village  on  the 
opposite  shore.     Just  above  it  is  the  castle  of  Eou- 
melin,  at  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Bosphorus,  and 
near  the  spot  where  the  strait  was  bridged  for  the 
passage  of  the  army  of  Darius.    On  the  hill  where  the 
castle  stands  is  a  rock,  on  which  the  Persian  monarch 
sat  and  beheld  the  progress  of  his  army  across  the 
water.     The  shores  of  Europe  and  Asia  come  within 
half  a  mile  of  each  other,  and  the  castles  on  opposite 
sites  take  their  names  from  the  continents  on  w^hich 
they  stand.     We  ran  into  one  bay,  and  then  around 
a  beautiful  headland  into  another,  and  then,  borne  by 
the  current,  we  skim  over  upon  the  Asiatic  shore,  and 
are  soon  back  again  under  the  banks  of  Europe.    The 
Franks   have   settled  more   on   the  latter,  while  the 


276  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  fleets.  Northern  gate. 


former  is  covered  with  summer  palaces  of  the  Sultan 
and  the  rich  Turks,  who  have  made  paradises  here  for 
themselves  that  fairly  rival  any  that  Mohammed  ever 
promised  them.  We  went  ashore  at  Buyukdere,  and 
wandered  among  its  fairy-like  gardens  and  villas,  and 
then  sailed  through  the  Allied  fleets — the  English, 
French,  Turkish,  and  Egyptian  men-of-war,  which 
were  now  lying  at  anchor  near  the  mouth  of  the  Black 
Sea.  Landing  again  on  the  shores  of  Asia,  we  climbed 
the  Giant's  Mountain,  whence  we  could  see  the  Eux- 
ine,  the  Bosphorus,  and  Marmora,  all  at  once,  with 
the  cities  and  villages,  palaces,  hanging  gardens, 
mosques  and  minarets,  castles  and  towers,  and  the 
mightiest  fleet  that  now  floats  on  the  sea. 

I  left  my  companions  and  wandered  off  on  this  hill 
in  Asia,  and  thought  of  the  wonderful  events  that  had 
passed  along  the  waters  now  lying  near  and  around 
me.  From  the  voyage  of  discovery  made  by  Jason  in 
quest  of  the  Golden  Fleece,  through  the  twenty-four 
sieges  that  the  city  of  Constantine  has  sustained,  down 
to  the  present  moment,  when  the  fleets  of  the  two 
mighty  empires  of  the  West  have  come  here  to  mingle 
in  the  fray  between  the  Crescent  and  the  Cross.  This 
is  the  northern  gate  of  Constantinople,  as  the  Helles- 
pont is  the  south.  There  are  no  fortresses  here  to 
guard  this  entrance,  and  these  wooden  walls  of  France 
and  England  are  needed  now.  If  these  powers,  or  one 
of  them,  had  possession  of  these  waters,  the  gates 
would  be  locked  and  barred  against  the  world.  I  sat 
down  and  wrote  these  lines  in  full  view  of  this  excit- 
ing and  magnificent  spectacle ;  and  then,  as  I  looked 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  277 

Egyptian  sailors.  In  the  fleet. 

down  the  Bosplioru  and  off  into  the  Sea  of  Marmora, 
stretched  like  an  ocean  away  under  the  sinking  sun, 
I  strove  to  look  into  the  future,  to  see  what  this  grand 
alliance  with  its  fleets  and  armies  will  achieve,  stand- 
ing here,  like  a  great  destroying  angel,  with  one  foot 
on  sea  and  one  on  land !  One  chapter  more  remains 
to  be  written  of  Turkey,  the  bloodiest  and  the  last. 

I  came  down  the  hill  through  a  deep  ravine,  and 
found  the  crew  of  one  of  the  Egyptian  ships  along  the 
hillsides,  with  kettles  hung  over  fires,  washing  each 
other  and  their  clothes,  for  there  were  many  waters 
or  much  water  there,  and  they  were  having  a  general 
frolic  on  land.  We  once  more  embarked  in  our  gay 
little  boat  and  pulled  off  for  the  fleet,  running  under 
the  bows  of  a  Turkish  three-decker ;  all  hands  were 
in  the  rigging  or  on  deck,  and  they  were  going  through 
the  drills  of  naval  service — an  animated  spectacle — a 
thousand  men  or  more  hurrying  through  the  ship, 
aloft  and  alow,  with  boldness  and  more  skill  than  I 
had  given  the  Turkish  sailor  credit  for.  We  had  let- 
ters to  introduce  us  to  the  Admiral  of  the  British 
fleet,  but  warned  by  the  sun  that  this  day  of  beauty 
would  have  a  close,  we  pulled  along.  We  kept  nearer 
to  the  Asiatic  shore  on  our  return,  realizing  all  one's 
dreams  of  Oriental  scenery.  Close  by  the  tower  of 
Asia,  on  that  shore  is  the  "  Valley  of  the  heavenly  wa- 
ter," which  the  Oriental  poets  celebrate  in  their  glow- 
ing verse.  And  what  poetry  has  left  unsung,  plainer 
prose  has  essayed,  for  the  village  of  Kandali  is  thus 
described  by  a  matter-of-fact  writer,  who  professes  to 
deal  only  in  sober  truths : 


278  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

A  beautiful  spot  Magic-lantern. 

"It  seems  suspended  in  the  vault  of  heaven  like  a 
beacon  of  beauty  to  the  earth,  sending  its  rays  of  light 
wide  around,  over  the  heights  and  depths  of  the  Eu- 
ropean and  Asiatic  shores.  Many  a  traveller  has 
described  with  enthusiasm  the  walks  along  the  Bos- 
phorus,  and  attempted  to  represent  in  words  the  pic- 
ture of  the  magic-lantern  which  both  its  shores  pre- 
sent in  many-colored  variety ;  but  few  Europeans 
have  admired  the  beautiful  panoramic  view  of  the  Bos- 
phorus  from  this  magic-lantern  of  Kandali ;  and  no 
one  has  yet  attempted  to  paint  from  this  spot  the 
double  union  of  nature  and  art,  of  grandeur  and  grace, 
of  the  majestic  and  beautiful,  which  the  Bosphorus 
here  offers  to  the  eye.  Vain  is  the  attempt  to  describe 
the  separate  or  collective  beauties  of  hills  and  dales,  of 
bights  and  bays,  of  meadows  and  springs,  of  dark 
cypress  groves  and  light  rose-beds,  of  roaring  currents 
and  lisping  springs,  of  golden  kiosks  and  marble  fount- 
ains ;  this  confusion  of  flag-bearing  masts  and  tower- 
ing minarets,  of  cupolas  floating  in  air,  and  caiques 
cleaving  the  waves,  of  currents  and  counter-currents, 
of  mountains  and  lakes,  through  which  the  mariner 
at  each  new  turn  of  the  shore  finds  himself  transported 
to  a  new  sea  encircled  by  magic  banks.  This  suc- 
cession of  the  seven  magic  caldrons,  in  each  of  which, 
as  in  that  of  Medea,  ancient  nature  appears  restored 
to  her  youth  and  in  new  graces,  is  beheld  from  the 
magic-lantern  of  Kandali.  In  the  corner  of  a  kiosk, 
with  his  back  to  one  of  its  columns,  the  traveller  looks 
down  on  one  side  on  the  dark  Euxine,  and  on  the 
other  on  the  gay  Sea  of  Marmora,  without  moving  his 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  279 

The  two  lands.  Friends  at  Bebek. 


body,  and  simply  turning  his  head  to  the  right  and 
left.  The  land  and  the  sea,  Asia  and  Europe,  appear 
together  before  him  in  the  bond  of  tranquil  beauty, 
and  from  this  spot  the  eye  is  master  of  two  continents 
and  two  seas,  while  resting  simultaneously  on  the 
Thracian  and  Bithynian  shores,  the  Cyanean  rocks,  and 
the  Islands  of  the  Blest." 

On  our  way  down  we  stopped  at  Bebek,  about  five 
miles  above  Pera,  on  the  banks  of  the  Bosphorus. 
Here  is  the  boarding-school  for  young  men,  in  the 
house  of  the  Bev.  Mr.  Hamlin,  who  received  me  cord- 
ially, and  conducted  me  at  once  into  the  room  where 
the  youth  were  at  their  studies.  Thirty-five  are  in  the 
Armenian  and  fifteen  in  the  Greek  department,  which 
is  under  the  care  of  the  Bev.  Mr.  Biggs.  The  most 
of  them  have  learned  to  read  the  English  language, 
that  they  may  have  access  to  the  literature  and  science 
which  no  translation  yet  affords  them  ;  and  the  course 
of  study  carries  them  on  into  all  those  branches  of 
education  which  are  pursued  in  the  highest  academies 
of  our  country.  Chemical  and  philosophical  courses 
of  lectures,  illustrated  with  experiments,  are  given, 
and  nothing  seemed  to  be  wanting  for  a  thorough  edu- 
cation. And  what  is  even  more  worthy  of  mention, 
the  young  men  appear  to  be  wide  awake  to  their  ad- 
vantages, and  pushing  on  with  ardor,  showing  how 
highly  they  appreciate  their  opportunities.  During 
their  vacations  many  of  the  students  go  out  into  the 
interior,  and  sell  or  give  away  good  books,  converse 
with  their  countrymen  from  door  to  door,  and  make 
themselves  useful  while  they  are  yet  in  training  for 


280  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Mr.  Hamlin's  works.  The  Jews. 

positions  of  still  greater  influence.  The  American 
Board  (under  whose  care  are  all  these  missions)  makes 
provision  for  the  support  of  only  forty  pupils ;  "but  so 
many  urge  their  suit  for  admission,  and  so  hard  is  it 
to  deny  them  when  they  come,  that  Mr.  Hamlin  has 
devised  and  carried  out  a  manual  labor  system,  by 
which  he  provides  the  means  to  sustain  ten  more. 
With  great  ingenuity  and  tact  he  has  set  in  operation 
various  mechanical  operations,  by  which  the  lads  are 
enabled  to  produce  articles  for  sale  that  yield  them 
material  aid.  Among  these  trades  is  the  manufacture 
of  lasts  for  shoes,  which  are  made  in  a  lathe,  as  in 
America ;  and  lately  he  has  started  a  steam  flouring- 
mill,  which  promises  to  be  a  great  establishment  in 
this  country ;  already  he  has  been  offered  a  large  price 
for  it  by  the  chief  miller  and  baker  in  Bebek,  who 
perceives  at  once  its  great  superiority  over  the  bun- 
gling machinery  by  which  he  has  hitherto  made  his 
flour. 

The  evening  was  spent  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs 
and  family.  He  has  long  been  engaged  in  the  mis- 
sion to  the  Greeks,  and  some  of  the  most  important 
translations  have  been  made  by  this  indefatigable  and 
able  scholar.  Here  also  I  met  the  Rev.  Mr.  Schauf- 
fler,  and  passed  the  night  at  his  house.  His  efforts 
are  made  chiefly  among  the  Jews,  and  he  is  now  pre- 
paring books  for  their  use  in  Hebrew  Spanish.  The 
three  families  of  Mr.  Hamlin,  Mr.  Riggs,  and  Mr. 
Schaufner,  are  here  associated  in  the  same  village, 
which  is  delightfully  situated,  a  healthful  location, 
and  surrounded  by  an  interesting  population.     They 


CONSTANTINOPLE.  '2Sl 


Hon.  G.  P.  Marsh. His  opinion. 

are  doing  good  in  a  way  that  is  telling  efficiently  on 
the  people. 

The  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh,  the  American  Minister 
at  the  Porte,  and  who  is  now  retiring  with  distil 
guished  honor,  and  the  admiration  of  all  the  Frank 
residents  here,  after  having  "been  familiarly  acquainted 
with  this  work  for  the  last  four  years,  spoke  to  me  in 
terms  of  strong  commendation  of  the  mission  at  Con^ 
stantinople.  He  said  the  people  in  America  have  no 
idea  of  the  work  going  on,  nor  of  the  influence  it  is 
destined  to  have  upon  the  country.  No  man  can  visit 
the  stations — three  in  number,  Pera,  Haskeuy,  and  Be- 
bek — without  feeling  that  he  is  in  the  midst  of  a  great 
moral  movement,  that  is  telling  on  the  future.  I  felt 
this  deeply  in  the  Mission  Chapel  at  Pera,  where  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Van  Lennep  was  preaching  in  Armenian, 
and  perhaps  still  more  when  I  went  from  one  family 
to  another  with  Dr.  Dwight,  and  conversed,  through 
him,  with  men,  women,  and  children,  who  are  as  fa- 
miliar with  the  truths  of  religion  as  persons  of  the 
same  age  and  condition  in  America. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOR. 

Departure  from  Constantinople — Our  Passengers — "Women  apart — 
Turk  with  his  two  Wives — Merchants  and  Merchandise — Smyrna 
— Islands  of  the  Sea — Scio  —  Samos  —  Nicaria — The  Harem  in 
Trouble — Patmos — Ehodes — Colossus — Turkish  Concert  of  Music 
— On  Shore — Deserted  Streets — Library — Sail  again — Meet  Vessel 
out  of  her  Way — Tarsus — Italian  Mountebanks — Jew  and  Greek 
Pilgrims — New-Year's  in  the  East — Boston  Rum — Alexandretta — 
Latakea — Fearful  Scene — Isle  of  Cyprus — Venus — Cyprian  Wine 
— Scriptural  association. 

Dec.  25.  The  setting  sun  was  gilding  the  dome  of 
St.  Sophia  when  we  embarked  to  depart  from  Con- 
stantinople, as  did  its  morning  beams  when  we  came 
to  anchor  in  the  mouth  of  the  Golden  Horn.  The 
steamer  Invperatore  was  very  slow  in  getting  under 
weigh.  The  lamps  were  flashing  among  the  trees  in 
the  Seraglio  gardens  before  we  left,  and  strains  of 
rich  music  came  floating  over  the  water,  as  if  a  festi- 
val was  there.  Night  settled  on  us  while  we  yet  lin- 
gered, as  if  loth  to  leave  the  scene.  Along  the  shore 
and  up  the  city,  the  lights  were  now  sparkling  like 
jewels  on  the  breast  of  beauty.  At  eight  in  the  even- 
ing we  weighed  anchor,  and  bade  a  reluctant  farewell 
to  the  city  of  the  Moslem.  The  upper  deck  of  the 
steamer  was  spread  with  mats  and  carpets,  and  a  sail 
stretched  over  like  a  tent  for  the  deck  passengers,  of 
whom  we  had  some  fifty  or  sixty.     The  women  were 


COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOR.  2S3 

Our  passengers.  TVo  wives. 

separated  from  the  men  by  a  railing.  Folding  their 
babies  in  their  bosoms,  they  covered  themselves  up 
with  blankets,  and  tried  to  be  comfortable.  The  men 
sat  smoking  their  nargalee,  quite  at  their  ease,  with 
the  prospect  of  an  out-of-door  passage  of  days  and 
nights  before  them.  At  sunset,  five  of  them  stood  up 
in  a  line  and  performed  their  evening  devotions,  bowing 
always  toward  Mecca,  kneeling  and  then  bending  for- 
ward so  as  to  touch  the  floor  with  their  foreheads,  then 
rising  and  prostrating  themselves  again,  and  all  this  in 
profound  silence.  Of  some  thirty  or  forty  on  deck  at 
this  time  but  these  five  prayed  at  sunset.  Among  the 
cabin  passengers  was  a  genteel  Turkish  merchant, 
with  his  two  wives,  and  each  of  them  with  a  babe. 
He  was  dressed  in  a  rich  scarlet  long-coat  or  gown 
and  full  blue  pantaloons,  a  girdle  encircling  his  waist. 
Sometimes  he  wore  the  red  fez,  and  sometimes  the 
turban.  His  wives  were  closely  vailed  whenever 
they  left  the  state-room ;  but  as  its  door  was  just 
opposite  to  mine,  and  often  suddenly  thrown  open 
by  the  motion  of  the  ship,  I  had  several  forbidden 
sights  of  the  charms  which  the  master  of  these  vailed 
women  hoped  to  conceal.  Their  beauty  was  nothing 
to  boast  of,  and  their  vails  quite  superfluous  in  the 
way  of  protection.  The  most  of  the  time  they  were 
deadly  sea-sick.  With  the  help  of  two  Nubian  slaves 
the  fond  husband  carried  them  up  on  deck,  for  the 
sake  of  the  air ;  and  the  poor  things  suffered  all  but 
death  itself,  their  babes  creeping  around  and  over 
them,  as  they  lay  on  the  mats,  helpless  and  miser- 
able. 


284  EUROPE     AND    THE     EAST. 

Turkish  traders.  Among  the  isles. 

Many  of  our  passengers  were  traders  who  had  been 
buying  goods  at  Constantinople,  and  were  now  re- 
turning to  the  interior  of  Asia  Minor,  having  their 
stores  in  great  leathern  sacks,  all  ready  to  be  loaded 
on  camels,  at  whatever  seaport  they  should  land,  and 
we  were  to  touch  at  several  on  the  way.  They  began 
to  trade  among  themselves,  and  shawls,  robes,  slip- 
pers, and  a  hundred  commodities  were  drawn  from 
the  abyss  of  these  bags  and  exchanged  owners.  Early 
in  the  morning,  after  a  stormy  passage  of  three  days, 
we  arrived  at  Smyrna,  and  renewed  our  acquaintance 
with  the  missionaries,  and  the  Messrs.  Yan  Lennep, 
a  family  of  great  worth  and  respectability,  the  head 
of  which  has  been  for  a  long  term  of  years  the  Consul 
of  the  Netherlands  at  this  port. 

December  27.  Our  steamer  Stamboid  left  Smyrna 
at  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening.  In  the  night  we  passed 
the  island  of  Scio,  the  scene  of  massacre  and  famine 
during  the  Greek  Revolution.  In  the  morning,  Samos 
was  on  our  left  when  we  came  upon  deck ;  and  for  a 
long  time  we  ran  in  sight  of  it.  Then  we  passed 
Nicaria,  where  Icarus,  the  son  of  Daedalus,  fell,  when 
flying  from  Crete,  with  his  wings  of  wax.  Other 
islands  were  constantly  in  sight.  At  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  when  too  dark  for  the  vessel  to  run  with 
safety,  we  came  to  anchor  between  two  of  them.  We 
were  greatly  disturbed  during  the  night  by  a  commo- 
tion in  the  harem.  The  two  wives  of  our  Turk  had 
a  fearful  quarrel  about  the  children ;  but  the  husband 
went  in  and  soon  calmed  the  excitement,  giving  us, 
however,   a  specimen  of  domestic  peace  which  must 


COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOR.  285 


Rocky  isle. 


prevail  in  the  household  where  there  are  more  wives 
than  one. 

Then  Patmos  hove  in  sight — the  Patmos  of  the 
Eevelation.  It  is  little  more  than  a  cluster  of  rocky 
peaks,  that  cise  abruptly  from  the  eastern  waters  of 
the  Mediterranean,  and  wear  perpetually  a  dreary 
frown  of  barrenness.  It  was  anciently  numbered  in 
the  group  of  the  "  Sporades,"  or  Scattered  Isles,  fa- 
mous in  classic  history.  It  then  bore  its  scriptural 
name ;  but  those  islands  are  no  longer  grouped  into 
one  geographical  cluster :  each  is  called  by  a  separate 
name,  and  claims  for  itself  a  distinct  individuality ; 
ancient  Patmos  has  become  the  modern  Palmosa. 
The  island  is  small,  sterile,  and  neglected.  Its  cir- 
cumference is  measured  by  fifteen  miles;  and  this 
short  strip  of  coast  is  composed  of  a  succession  of 
high,  bluff  capes,  that  are  difficult  of  access,  and  per- 
ilous to  the  mariner.  Between  these  promontories, 
however,  are  several  inlets  of  the  sea  that  would  form 
good  harbors,  if  they  were  ever  needed  to  be  occupied. 
As  yet,  there  is  but  one  to  which  the  scanty  com- 
merce of  the  island  has  ever  invited  vessels  to  resort. 

At  the  edge  of  the  bay  which  forms  this  haven  is  a 
little,  noiseless  town,  built  upon  a  broad,  high  rock. 
Anciently,  Patmos  had  no  city  even  as  large  as  this. 
The  island  was  always  so  desolate  and  uninviting, 
that  it  was  hardly  ever  used  for  a  better  purpose  than 
as  a  place  for  convicts,  banished  thither  under  the 
authority  of  the  Eoman  government.  Its  general  re- 
pute among  the  ancients  was  not  unlike  that  of  Van 
Diemen's  Land  among  ourselves.     St.  John  was  ex- 


286  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Heene  of  the  vision.  The  grotto. 

iled  to  its  bleak,  bare  shores  during  the  latter  portion 
of  the  reign  of  the  Emperor  Domitian,  because  of  his 
preaching  the  Gospel.  "  I,  John,  who  also  am  your 
brother,  and  companion  in  tribulation,  and  in  the  king- 
dom and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  in  the  isle  that 
is  called  Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the  tes- 
timony of  Jesus  Christ."  While  under  the  sentence  of 
Eoman  tyranny,  he  there  recorded  the  prophetic  Reve- 
lation, as  it  glowed  with  heavenly  inspiration  before  his 
enraptured  vision.  "The  Revelation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
which  God  gave  unto  him,  to  show  unto  his  servants 
things  which  must  shortly  come  to  pass  ;  and  he  sent 
and  signified  it  by  his  angel  unto  his  servant  John: 
who  bare  record  of  the  word  of  God,  and  of  the  testi- 
mony of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  all  things  that  he  saw. 
Blessed  is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear  the 
words  of  this  prophecy,  and  keep  those  things  which 
are  written  therein:  for  the  time  is  at  hand."  At  this 
day  there  is  pointed  out  to  the  traveller  a  natural 
grotto,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  spot  where  he  saw 
the  "glory  that  was  revealed."  Near  the  place  a 
small  church  now  stands,  connected  with  which  is  a 
college  where  the  ancient  Greek  is  taught  in  its  early 
purity. 

Upon  the  summit  of  the  mountain  on  which  the 
town  is  built  stands  an  old  monastery,  commanding 
in  its  situation  and  majestic  in  appearance.  It  con- 
tains a  large  library,  in  which  are  many  valuable 
books,  together  with  an  interesting  collection  of  curi- 
ous ancient  manuscripts. 

Dec.  28.   Early  in  the  morning  we  found  ourselves 


COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOR.  287 

Diving  for  sponges.  Colossus  of  Rhodes. 

on  the  northern  coast  of  Lero.  The  Archangel  Isles, 
desert  and  barren,  lay  around  us.  After  the  storm 
abated  we  passed  Calymno  and  came  by  Cos,  which 
showed  a  beautiful  range  of  hills,  fertile  fields,  and  a 
smiling  town,  with  minarets  rising  from  the  midst. 
We  passed  several  small  islands,  sparsely  inhabited ; 
the  people  being  engaged  chiefly  in  diving  for  sponges. 
In  the  distance  the  wind-mills,  and  fortifications,  and 
minarets  on  the  shores  of  the  island  of  Rhodes,  rise 
to  view,  the  old  town  stretching  upward  on  the  hills. 
It  was  just  at  sunset ;  the  clouds  hung  in  great  glory 
in  the  west,  presenting  a  picturesque  and  exciting 
scene  as  we  ran  between  the  castles  of  St.  John  and 
St.  Michael.  Near  where  the  great  Colossus  of 
Rhodes  once  stood,  stretching  its  giant  limbs  from 
rock  to  rock,  we  came  to  anchor  in  a  small  bay. 
This  Colossus,  one  of  the  seven  wonders  of  the  world, 
a  statue  of  brass  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and 
each  finger  larger  than  a  man,  was  thrown  down  by 
an  earthquake  fifty-six  years  after  it  was  set  up. 
Then  it  lay  here  more  than  eight  hundred  years,  when 
the  brass  was  sold  to  a  Jew,  who  carried  it  off  on 
nine  hundred  camels. 

We  could  not  go  ashore,  as  we  were  assured  there 
was  not  a  decent  place  in  town  for  a  stranger  to  stay 
in.  Remaining  on  board,  I  visited  in  the  course  of 
the  evening  the  encampment  of  the  Turks  on  deck. 
Beneath  a  sail,  which  was  spread  as  a  tent  over  then- 
heads,  they  had  gathered  for  a  sort  of  concert  of 
music,  with  rude  cymbals,  wires  drawn  over  a  round 
head — somewhat  resembling  a  drum — a  sort  of  fiddle, 


288  EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Concert  of  music.  Rhodes. 

and  a  hand-organ,  and  some  other  instruments.  A 
few  of  them  made  harsh  discord,  to  which  the  crowd 
around  listened  apparently  with  great  enjoyment. 
The  Turks  who  were  not  engaged  in  the  musical  per- 
formances sat  cross-legged  and  smoking;  while  in  the 
background  the  vailed  women  clustered  as  near  the 
scene  as  possible.  The  steam  from  the  crowd,  and 
the  smoke  of  their  pipes,  rendered  the  place  quite  in- 
supportable ;  and  I  was  glad,  after  the  box  had  been 
passed  for  a  contribution,  to  make  them  my  donation 
and  escape. 

Early  the  next  morning  numerous  boats  came  off 
to  the  vessel,  bringing  the  most  delicious  oranges,  and 
— what  we  had  not  had  before — sweet  lemons,  re- 
sembling the  orange  in  shape  and  somewhat  in  taste. 
We  went  ashore,  passing  under  the  site  of  the  Colos- 
sus. Landing  in  the  midst  of  the  fortifications,  we 
passed  along  into  the  street  of  St.  John — a  deserted 
town,  where  the  old  walls  of  the  stone  houses  are  still 
standing,  with  their  curious  architecture  and  ancient 
escutcheons  cut  in  the  stone  on  the  outside. 

It  was  silent  as  Pompeii ;  now  and  then  we  met  a 
vailed  woman  or  a  boy,  who  seemed  to  be  wandering 
as  if  lost  in  the  wilderness  of  a  vacant  city.  An  art- 
ist sat  by  the  wayside  sketching  a  Gothic  gateway  to 
an  ancient  palace.  The  pavements,  worn  by  wheels, 
showed  that  we  were  in  streets  that  had  been  once 
busy  with  the  stir  of  life,  but  that  generations  once 
here  were  now  passed  away  forever.  Up  the  heights 
we  wound  round  an  old  wall  to  the  ancient  church  of 
St.  John,  now  a  mosque,  with  a  fountain,  cypress,  and 


COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOR.  289 

Old  library.  Wandering  vessel. 

some  palm-trees,   broken  columns  standing,   strange 
pavements,  and  curiously-carved  doors. 

An  old  priest  sat  at  the  door  of  what  professed  to 
be  a  library.  We  walked  in  and  chatted  with  him, 
but  found  his  literary  stores  to  consist  only  of  a  few 
manuscripts  and  books — a  melancholy  collection,  but 
quite  in  keeping  with  every  thing  we  saw  in  this  once 
interesting  and  important  city,  once  the  residence  of 
the  Knights  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  adorned,  forti- 
fied, and  defended  by  them,  as  history  tells  us  in 
some  of  its  most  glowing  chapters. 

December  30.  With  fine  weather  we  made  good 
time  to-day.  In  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  we  saw 
a  vessel  in  the  distance,  with  signals  of  distress  flying. 
We  turned  our  course  and  bore  down  toward  it,  and 
found  her  to  be  a  Turkish  schooner,  bound  to  Beyroot ; 
had  lost  her  way,  had  no  compass,  and  wanted  to  be 
set  right.  She  had  about  fifty  Turks  on  board,  who 
sent  up  a  shout  imploring  us  to  come  on  and  give 
them  the  direction.  We  complied  with  their  request, 
and  the  rickety  concern  stood  off  upon  its  course. 

December  31.  We  reached  Marsina,  on  the  coast 
of  Asia,  at  nine  in  the  morning,  and  put  into  a  small 
bay.  A  dozen  vessels  were  laying  at  anchor,  and  a 
few  mean  houses  stood  upon  the  beach.  The  town 
itself  lies  back  of  the  hill.  After  breakfast  we  went 
ashore,  and  found  a  caravan  of  camels  reclining  on 
the  beach;  they  had  brought  down  the  produce  of 
the  interior  country,  consisting  chiefly  of  cotton,  and 
were  now  to  receive  for  their  return  freight  the  west- 
ern goods  which  had  been  brought  by  our  ship. 
Vol.  II.— N 


290  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Turkish  cannon.  A  performance. 


The  ancient  city  of  Tarsus  lies  about  five  hours 
distance  over  the  hill.  This  is  the  place  from  which 
Paul  came,  and  to  which  Jonah  attempted  to  flee.  It 
is  now  celebrated  for  its  furnaces  and  foundries,  where 
cannon  are  cast  for  the  Turkish  government.  A  large 
number  of  them  were  lying  upon  the  beach,  ready  to 
be  shipped  by  the  next  steamer  for  Constantinople. 

It  is  a  miserably  tedious  way  they  have  on  these 
steamers,  of  running  only  in  the  night  and  lying  in 
port  all  day.  The  arrangement  is  made  for  the  sake 
of  the  trade  the  steamer  keeps  up  with  various  points 
on  the  coast,  as  it  goes  around  the  Levant.  To  kill 
the  time  which  hangs  so  heavily  on  all  hands,  after 
the  freight  had  been  discharged  and  received,  a  per- 
formance was  given  by  an  Italian  family  of  jugglers 
and  mountebanks,  making  the  tour  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean, and  giving  exhibitions  at  all  the  important 
places  at  which  they  touched.  The  world  is  very 
much  the  same  all  over.  But  I  doubt  if  they  ever 
had  a  more  picturesque  and  varied  set  of  spectators 
than  they  had  to-day.  First  and  foremost  a  settee 
was  placed  near  the  mat  on  which  the  performers 
were  to  stand,  and  on  the  settee  were  the  four  Amer- 
ican travellers  occupying  "the  front  reserved  seats." 
On  the  floor  sat  a  row  of  turbaned  Turks,  smoking, 
and  trying  to  look  as  if  they  had  nothing  to  do,  and 
didn't  care  what  was  going  on.  Some  of  them  had 
stuck  their  pistols  in  their  belts,  and  rigged  them- 
selves with  more  taste  than  usual.  The  Greeks,  with 
white  kilts  and  the  red  fez,  were  behind  the  Turks. 
Twenty  Jews  on  their  way  to  the  Holy  City,  now 


COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOE.  291 

Mountebanks.  Pilo-rims. 

came  up  and  stood  looking  on.  The  firemen  and 
crew  in  their  dirty  clothes,  were  on  the  rigging  or  the 
machinery — any  where  to  get  a  sight  over  the  heads 
of  the  passengers.  The  man  who  was  to  give  the  en- 
tertainment now  stepped  forward,  leading  a  little  girl, 
both  of  them  dressed  in  tights,  and  went  through 
various  feats  of  agility,  which  were  received  with 
demonstrations  of  applause  by  the  assembly.  The 
girl  took  two  tumblers  of  water,  held  one  on  her 
mouth  and  the  other  on  her  forehead,  her  head  being 
turned  backward,  and  thus  balancing  the  glasses,  she 
crept  through  the  rounds  of  a  chair  and  a  dozen  hoops, 
without  spilling  the  water.  It  was  a  long,  trying, 
and  painful  experiment.  The  man  balanced  a  gun  by 
its  bayonet  on  his  teeth,  and  while  thus  holding  it 
discharged  another  gun.  Then  he  put  the  girl  on  the 
top  of  a  pole,  and  resting  the  other  end  of  the  pole  on 
his  teeth,  whirled  her  in  the  air.  Then  he  pressed 
the  bayonet  point  in  the  middle  of  his  forehead,  and 
gave  a  whirl,  but  suddenly  seized  it,  for,  contrary  to 
his  expectations,  it  bored  a  hole  into  his  skull,  and  the 
blood  ran  out  on  his  face.  He  bound  a  handkerchief 
over  the  wound  and  went  on  with  other  feats,  till  we 
had  seen  more  than  enough.  A  collection  was  taken 
up,  and  Turks,  Greeks,  Jews,  Americans,  and  all 
hands  contributed,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the 
manager. 

I  found  that  many  of  the  Greeks  and  all  of  the 
Jews  were  making  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Holy  Sepul- 
chre. It  is  easier  to  be  a  pilgrim  now  than  it  was 
before  the  days  of  steamers.     Some  of  these  Jews  are 


292  EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Jews  gone  to  die.  New-Year's  Day. 

very  old,  very  dirty,  very  drunken,  and  are  going  to 
Jerusalem  to  die  there.  One  of  them,  a  bloated, 
blotched,  and  beastly  drunkard,  complained  to  the 
captain  this  morning  that  some  one  had  stolen  all  the 
rum  from  a  bottle  he  had  with  him.  The  others  as- 
sured the  captain  that  the  old  sinner  had  drunk  it  all 
the  night  before,  and  knew  nothing  of  it  in  the 
morning. 

These  Jews  esteem  it  a  great  privilege  to  die  at 
Jerusalem.  But,  like  all  other  mortals,  they  put  the 
evil  day  afar  off,  and  set  out  to  the  Holy  Land  only 
when  there  is  no  hope  of  their  living  any  where. 
Some  of  them  die  on  the  way.  But  if  they  have 
contributed  a  certain  sum — I  forget  the  amount — to 
the  synagogue  at  home,  they  have  a  certificate  of  that 
fact  with  them,  and  it  secures  them  a  support  and 
burial  wherever  they  may  be  taken  sick  in  their  jour- 
ney, the  world  over,  if  they  come  to  a  synagogue  of 
Jews. 

January  1,  1854.  A  New  Year!  At  anchor  this 
morning  in  the  harbor  of  Alexandretta,  on  the  coast 
of  Asia  Minor. 

Sabbath  morning !  A  forlorn  and  dreary  place  we 
are  in  to  celebrate  the  New  Year  and  the  Sabbath. 
But  the  God  of  the  rolling  year  is  with  us,  at  sea,  at 
home,  or  in  the  distant  lands  of  the  East.  Our 
thoughts  are  away  with  those  who  wish  us  a  Happy 
New  Year;  whose  faces  we  can  not  see,  whose  lips 
we  shall  not  kiss  to-day,  whose  voices,  glad  and  glad- 
dening, we  shall  not  hear.  God  bless  them  all,  and 
make  them  happy !    Their  prayer  for  us  we  know  it  is  ; 


COASTS     OF     ASIA     MINOR.  293 

Land  cursed.  Boston  rum. 

our  prayer  for  them  it  shall  be,  now  and  ever.  Happy 
New  Year  to  you  all,  six  thousand  miles  from  us,  but 
just  as  near  to  God  as  we. 

We  are  lying  half  a  mile  from  the  coast,  where  six 
houses  and  as  many  cabins  are  planted.  Barren  and 
rugged  hills  rise  high,  receding  rapidly  from  the  shore. 
A  gap  in  the  mountains  opens  a  passage  to  the  town, 
which  lies  an  hour  or  two  beyond.  The  hills  have 
no  flocks,  and  the  shores  seem  to  have  no  inhabitants. 
Silence  reigns  over  the  face  of  nature  as  if  the  land 
were  under  a  curse.  Christianity  once  flourished 
here,  and  all  these  ports  were  filled  with  ships — the 
ships  of  Tarshish — and  the  commerce  of  India  was 
gathered  here.  Now  the  half-savage  Turk  and  the 
wandering  Arab,  with  their  camels — the  "ships  of  the 
desert" — keep  up  a  small  traffic,  and  an  occasional 
vessel  touches  on  its  way  to  more  favored  ports.  Our 
vessel  was  gayly  trimmed  with  flags  in  honor  of  the 
day.  The  crew  rigged  themselves  in  holiday  attire 
after  the  freight  had  been  put  ashore.  Among  the 
rest  were  half  a  dozen  barrels  marked  "Pure  Bos- 
ton Rum ;"  these  will  be  carried,  on  the  backs  of 
camels,  far  into  the  interior  of  Asia,  and  the  heads  of 
the  people,  to  do  its  work  of  ruin.  I  have  seen  but 
little  drunkenness  since  I  left  Europe.  The  men  on 
board  the  ship  are  strongly  tempted  to  drink,  and  a 
shop  is  open  all  the  time  for  the  sale  of  liquors,  but  I 
see  few  of  them  touching  it.  The  captain,  however, 
is  tipsy  to-day;  he  has  been  ashore  this  morning, 
and  finding  two  or  three  consuls  there,  has  had  a  re- 
freshing time.     But  these  natives,  who  are  bringing 


294  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Syrian  coney.  The  two  wives. 

coal  on  board  from  a  vessel  in  the  harbor,  are  wild 
with  the  excitement  of  their  work,  and  cany  on  like 
semi-devils,  pulling  and  hauling,  shouting  and  laugh- 
ing; yet  they  are  not  intoxicated.  But  such  a  ragged 
set  of  tatterdemalions  it  would  be  hard  to  match  in 
the  New  World,  and,  I  think,  in  the  Old.  Speak- 
ing of  liquors  reminds  me  that  brandy  is  often  used 
in  France  with  coffee;  but  on  this  steamer  I  first  met 
with  the  use  of  rum  in  tea !  It  was  offered  to  me, 
and,  for  the  experiment,  I  tasted  the  villainous  mix- 
ture, and  it  was  fairly  nauseating. 

The  firemen  went  ashore  with  their  guns,  and 
ranged  the  hills,  bringing  back  but  a  single  animal, 
and  that  one  quite  new  to  all  on  board.  I  thought 
him  like  an  American  wood-chuck,  though  twice  as 
large.  Since  that  time  I  recognized  his  likeness  in  a 
work  on  Natural  History.  He  was  the  Syrian  coney, 
the  animal  mentioned  in  the  Scriptures. 

Here  we  parted  with  our  friend,  the  Turk,  with  his 
two  wives.  It  was  a  relief  to  be  rid  of  him,  and  even 
more,  to  be  delivered  from  his  wives  and  children, 
whose  cries  and  quarrels  had  disturbed  us  night  and 
day.  The  Turk  pressed  my  hand  tenderly  to  his  breast, 
and  wished  me  health  and  prosperity  in  all  time  to 
come.  The  women  toddled  out  of  the  cabin  and  over 
the  side  of  the  ship  as  if  they  were  of  no  more  ac- 
count than  the  luggage  of  the  husband  and  master. 

Jan.  2.  In  the  course  of  the  night  we  ran  through 
a  very  rough  sea,  the  vessel  rolling  awfully,  mak- 
ing us  all  sea-sick,  and  at  nine  in  the  morning 
we  made  the  roadstead  of  Latakea.     A  few  houses 


COASTS  OP  ASIA  MINOR.        295 


A  boisterous  bay. Rough  time. 

only  were  on  the  shore  ;    but  there  appeared  to  be 
great  numbers  of  olive-trees,   and  a  little  way  back 
we  could  see  the  cupolas  and  domes  crowning  some 
low  mosques,  and  here  and  there  a  minaret  pointing 
to  the  sky.     A  town  of  some  importance  is  scattered 
over  the  plain,  which  extends  some  two  or  three  miles 
to  the  hills.     Eight  row-boats  are  pulling  rapidly  over 
the  rolling  billows  toward  the  steamer,  and  we  watch 
them,  expecting  every  moment  to  see  them  upset  by 
the  waves.     They  manage  them  with  great  skill,  and 
come  alongside  of  us,  shouting  for  passengers  to  take 
ashore.     With  yellow  cotton  handkerchiefs  for  tur- 
bans, blue  trowsers,  white  tunics,  and  red  caps,  with 
all  sorts  of  vests,  belts,  and  petticoats,  they  were  a 
motley  and  merry  group.     I  coaxed  some  of  them  to 
stand  on  the  seat  of  the  boat,  and  let  me  have  a  fair 
view  of  them.     At  the  step-ladder  they  struggled  for 
the  first  chance  to  board  us;   and  those  who  could 
not  get  up,  cried  out  to  the  passengers,  and  offered 
to  take  them  off.      Some  forty  or  fifty  of  our  Turks 
and  Greeks  went  ashore.     In  the  course  of  an  hour, 
and  while   we  were  putting    off  the   freight  into   a 
lighter,   the  wind,  which  had  been  high,  rose  to   a 
gale,  and  there  was   danger   of  our   driving  on  the 
beach.     We  signaled  to  the  town  that  we  were  start- 
ing, and  then  commenced  the  struggle  of  our  passen- 
gers to  get  on  board  again.     Boat  after  boat  came  off, 
but  was  beaten  back  by  the  increasing  gale.      Some 
of  the  larger  skiffs,  but  heavily  loaded,  pulled  despe- 
rately, now  poised  on  the  crest  of  a  tremendous  wave, 
and  then  lost  to  our  view  so  long  we  thought  they 


296  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Woman  fainting.  Some  left. 

would  never  rise  again;  but  on  they  came  till  one 
after  another  they  reached  us.  The  first  "brought, 
among  others,  a  woman,  who,  the  moment  she  was 
safely  deposited  on  the  deck  and  the  awful  expo- 
sure was  over,  fainted  away.  The  husband  and  son 
of  another  of  our  female  passengers  had  gone  ashore, 
and  as  they  did  not  return,  she  wrung  her  hands, 
wept,  beat  her  breast,  tore  her  hair,  prayed,  and 
finally  wrapt  herself  in  a  blanket,  and  gave  up  to 
despair.  When  the  objects  of  her  anxiety  finally 
reached  the  vessel,  they  treated  her  concern  with  per- 
fect contempt,  and  were  only  pleased  at  then*  own 
escape  from  the  sea.  The  step-ladder,  rendered  use- 
less by  the  violence  of  the  billows,  was  extended  over 
the  side  of  the  vessel  as  a  platform,  which  the  pas- 
sengers in  the  boats  were  to  seize  as  they  rose  on  the 
top  of  the  waves.  The  boatmen,  improving  the  op- 
portunity to  extort  higher  fare  from  those  whom  they 
brought  aboard,  would  seize  them  by  the  legs,  pull 
them  back  into  the  boat,  and  hold  them  fast  until 
they  had  received  as  much  as  they  wished,  when 
they  would  assist  them  to  get  on  board.  After  the 
steamer  had  started  we  saw  two  or  three  more  boats 
coming  off  with  passengers,  but  it  was  too  late  for 
them  to  reach  us ;  and  the  gale  increased  with  so 
much  fury  that  we  were  obliged  to  hurry  off,  and 
leave  them  to  their  disappointment.  Doubtless  they 
returned,  as  did  the  many  boats  that  were  around  us, 
to  the  shore  in  safety. 

January  3.   Through  the  most  violent  storm  that 
we  had  ever  encountered  on  the  Mediterranean,  we 


COASTS     OP     ASIA     MINOR.  297 

Venus's  birth-place.  On  shore. 

made  our  way  across  to  the  island  of  Cyprus,  which 
we  reached  early  in  the  morning;  and,  to  our  great 
joy,  found  ourselves  once  more  in  smooth  water.  A 
long  range  of  bleak  sand-hills  gave  us  no  promise 
of  the  isle  of  beauty  we  had  hoped  to  see,  in  the 
spot  where  Venus  was  born  of  the  foam  of  the  sea, 
where  her  temple  stood,  and  where  her  worship,  more 
than  elsewhere,  was  for  many  years  maintained.  The 
fable  that  has  associated  Venus  and  her  worship  with 
this  island  was,  doubtless,  suggested  by  the  voluptu- 
ous pleasures  of  the  inhabitants  of  Cyprus.  Stretched 
along  the  shore  now  stands  the  city  of  Larneca.  A 
few  minarets,  but  no  towers  of  any  size,  rise  from  the 
farther  side ;  behind  it,  lofty  hills  swell  into  domes, 
with  a  regularity  almost  unnatural,  yet  doubtless  sug- 
gestive of  the  style  of  architecture  common  in  the 
East.  We  went  ashore  and  wandered  through  the 
streets  of  this  town.  The  houses  are  but  one  story 
high,  and  have  court-yards  surrounded  by  mud  walls  ; 
the  roofs  are  made  by  laying  poles  over  the  rafters, 
then  covering  them  with  earth,  and  finally  sowing- 
grass  upon  the  top  of  that.  The  streets  are  narrow 
and  muddy,  and  are  constructed  with  a  raised  side- 
walk wide  enough  only  for  one  person  to  walk  upon. 
Camels  were  trudging  through  the  muddy  ways,  or  in 
their  stables  eating  chopped  straw,  their  common 
food.  A  merchant  on  whom  we  called,  inquired  of 
us  concerning  the  missionaries  whom  he  had  seen  in 
Palestine  and  Syria ;  for  he  had  been  a  dragoman  in 
the  East,  and  had  frequently  accompanied  travellers 
in  their  journeys  through  those  countries.     One  of 

N* 


298        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Cyprian  wine.  I'aul  preaches  here. 

the  officers  of  the  ship,  with  whom  we  had  come 
ashore,  was  in  search  of  the  Cyprian  wine,  so  famous 
in  ancient  as  well  as  in  modern  times.  After  much 
search  he  found  the  merchant  of  whom  he  expected 
to  make  his  purchases.  His  store  was  on  the  hare 
ground;  in  one  corner  was  a  pile  of  straw,  chopped 
and  ready  for  sale  for  the  use  of  camels  ;  in  another, 
a  pile  of  wood,  which  he  sold  for  twenty  paras — one 
cent — a  stick ;  in  addition  to  this  assortment,  a  little 
earthenware  completed  the  merchandise  of  the  estab- 
lishment. His  wine  was  arranged  in  immense  hogs- 
heads around  the  wall ;  and  the  purchaser  was  allow- 
ed to  taste  the  several  qualities,  which  were  drawn  with 
a  syphon.  After  the  officer  had  determined  the  qual- 
ity of  the  wine  which  he  preferred  to  purchase,  the 
man  made  every  possible  objection  to  his  taking  it, 
and  insisted  upon  putting  up  for  him  a  quality  which 
he  regarded  to  be  decidedly  inferior ;  so  that  it  was  a 
long  time  before  he  could  overcome  the  various  diffi- 
culties which  the  merchant  suggested,  and  secure  a 
couple  of  gallons  of  the  sort  he  wanted  for  the  use 
of  the  ship. 

On  this  island,  in  Paphos,  the  Apostle  Paul,  then 
called  Saul,  preached  the  Gospel  to  Sergius  Paulus. 
Here  he  encountered  Elymas  the  sorcerer,  and  de- 
nounced the  judgments  of  God  upon  him.  Then,  this 
isle  was  filled  with  Jews  and  heathen,  and  was 
covered  with  magnificent  temples  and  abodes  of 
wealth  and  pleasure.  Now,  it  is  comparatively  de- 
serted ;  and  few,  if  any,  vestiges  of  its  ancient  glory 


CHAPTER    XXL 

SYEIA MOUNT     LEBANON. 

Beyroot — Arrival — Eeception — Disappointment — Engaging  a  Drag- 
oman— Contract — Social  Life  with  the  Missionaries — Grave  of 
Pliny  Fisk — Mission  Families — Arab  Curses — Meeting  an  old 
Classmate — Eide  to  Lebanon — Sacred  History — Almonds,  Figs, 
Olives,  and  Kharibs — Fountains — Women  wearing  Horns — Sheep 
with  large  Tails — The  House  of  my  Friend — His  School — Arab 
Curiosity — View  from  a  peak  of  Lebanon — Tomb  of  a  Druse 
Saint — Cedars  of  Lebanon — Superstitions — Excursion  to  the  Nin- 
eveh of  Syria — Ancient  Inscription — Eemarkable  Features — Arab 
Eace. 

January  4.  The  next  morning  we  arose  with  the 
light  of  day,  and  at  sunrise  "goodly  Lebanon"  stood 
before  us.  Beyroot — beautiful  for  situation — was  lying 
on  the  shore,  inviting  us  to  the  homes  of  friends  who 
we  knew  would  give  us  a  cordial  welcome  after  our 
weary  tossing  for  ten  days  and  nights  upon  the  stormy 
sea.  The  missionaries  met  us  at  the  wharf,  and  in- 
sisted upon  conducting  us  immediately  to  their  sev- 
eral houses.  With  great  reluctance  they  allowed  us, 
for  the  present,  at  least,  to  take  up  our  quarters  at 
the  hotel  until  we  should  have  completed  the  neces- 
sary arrangements  for  our  journey  in  Syria.  At 
Malta  we  had  engaged  a  dragoman  to  come  on  and 
meet  us  at  Beyroot,  and  have  all  necessary  arrange- 
ments made  for  our  immediate  departure  from  this 
place.      To  our  no  small  disappointment  we  found  a 


300  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

A  dragoman.  Missionaries. 

letter  for  us  with  intelligence  that  he  had  concluded 
to  go  with  another  party  into  Egypt,  and  that  we 
must  now  look  out  for  ourselves.  But  long  before  we 
reached  the  hotel  we  were  beset  by  many,  who  thrust 
upon  us  their  books  of  recommendation,  and  insisted 
that  they  were,  of  all  the  dragomans  in  the  East,  the 
very  best,  and  could  give  us  the  most  indisputable 
evidence  of  their  high  qualifications  for  the  responsi- 
ble trust  of  conducting  travellers  through  the  Holy 
Land  into  Egypt,  or,  indeed,  into  any  part  of  the 
Eastern  world.  The  American  Consul,  J.  Hosford 
Smith,  Esq.,  kindly  gave  us  important  assistance  in 
the  selection  of  a  suitable  dragoman ;  and,  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  we  completed  our  contract,  which 
was  signed,  sealed,  and  attested  at  the  consulate,  and 
became  a  legal  document,  binding  upon  us  and  upon 
the  dragoman  in  any  part  of  the  land.  By  this  agree- 
ment Antonio  was  bound  to  furnish  us  with  travelling 
tents,  bed  and  bedding,  horses,  camels,  and  daily 
provisions ;  the  latter  to  consist  of  breakfast,  lunch, 
dinner,  and  supper,  in  quantity  and  quality  becoming- 
first-class  passengers  on  board  the  steamers  on  the 
Mediterranean. 

When  these  arrangements  were  completed  we  joy- 
fully accepted  the  hospitalities  of  the  missionaries.  I 
was  welcomed  to  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whiting, 
where,  for  four  or  five  days,  I  had  the  calm  repose  and 
social  enjoyments  of  a  Christian  home.  He  and  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  Dr.  De  Forest,  and  Mr.  Hurter, 
the  printer,  are  laboring  in  their  respective  depart- 
ments— the  first,  a  faithful  preacher  of  the  word  :  the 


SYHIA  —  MOUNT     LEBANON.  301 

Pliny  Fisk's  grave.  Arab  curse. 

second,  translating  the  Scriptures ;  the  third,  teaching 
a  female  seminary ;  the  fourth,  publishing  the  Bible 
and  religious  books ;  and  all  of  them,  as  they  have 
strength  and  opportunity,  laboring  in  various  ways  to 
promote  the  work  of  Christian  missions. 

In  the  burial-ground  of  the  missionaries,  near  the 
printing-house  and  chapel,  I  found  the  grave  of  the 
Eev.  Pliny  Fisk,  who  died  October  23,  1828,  aged 
thirty-three  years.  He  was  the  first  missionary  of 
the  American  Board  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem.  I  after- 
ward sought  long  and  diligently  for  the  grave  of  his 
associate,  Levi  Parsons,  who  died  and  was  buried  at 
Alexandria,  in  Egypt.  Around  the  grave  of  Fisk  were 
those  of  the  wives  and  children  of  several  of  the  mis- 
sionaries— a  precious  deposit  which  has  here  been 
made  of  those  who  early  perished  in  the  service  of 
God  in  this  Eastern  field. 

Walking  in  the  street  in  company  with  one  of  the 
missionaries,  who  understood  the  language  of  the 
Arabs,  by  whom  we  were  surrounded,  I  heard  one  of 
them  cursing  another ;  and  the  missionary  interpreted 
to  me  the  language  which  he  used.  Even  when  an 
ass  is  the  object  of  the  curse,  they  say,  "  Cursed  be 
the  religion  of  your  father,  or  of  your  father's  father." 
"May  God  bless  the  father  of  your  beard,"  is  a  com- 
mon form  of  pronouncing  a  benediction  upon  a  friend. 
The  religion  of  an  ass  was  something  I  had  never 
heard  of  before. 

Twenty-five  years  ago — ah!  how  swiftly  roll  the 
wheels  of  time — I  had  a  classmate  in  college,  of 
whom,  had  any  one  predicted  then  that  he  would  ever 


302        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

My  classmate.  Ahmoud. 

be  a  missionary,  he  would  have  seemed  to  me  as  one 
that  mocked.  In  intellect  decidedly  the  foremost  of 
his  fellows,  distinguished  by  the  versatility  of  his  pow- 
ers and  the  range  of  his  acquirements,  with  strong 
tendencies  toward  the  political  arena  as  the  destined 
theatre  of  his  future  toil  and  triumph,  we  looked  on 
him  as  a  man  to  make  his  mark  high  on  the  scroll  of 
his  country's  history.  He  was  regarded  as  an  enemy 
of  religion  ;  and  of  all  the  men  in  college,  he  was  the 
last  to  be  counted  on  as  likely  to  yield  to  her  persua- 
sions and  become  her  champion.  Perched  on  the 
side,  and  nearly  to  the  summit  of  Mount  Lebanon,  is 
a  small  village,  Abeih,  some  five  kotos'  ride  from  Bey- 
root,  looking  out  from  its  nest  upon  the  Mediterra- 
nean Sea.  Here  my  old  classmate,  Rev.  S.  H.  Cal- 
houn, resides.  He  had  heard  that  I  was  coming, 
and  when,  from  his  window,  he  saw  the  smoke  of  the 
steamer,  he  arose,  saddled  his  horse,  and  came  down. 
What  a  tide  of  emotions  did  that  meeting  raise! 
How  strange  the  pathways  by  which  we  had  been 
led;  how  passing  strange  that  here,  in  Syria,  we 
should,  after  such  a  separation,  meet  again ! 

Ahmoud,  the  Arab  dragoman  of  the  American  Con- 
sul, mounted  upon  a  handsome  horse,  with  a  sword 
by  his  side — a  tall  old  turbaned  fellow — appeared  at 
our  door  this  morning  to  escort  us  and  a  party  of 
ladies,  who  were  to  accompany  us,  to  Mount  Lebanon, 
to  make  a  visit  to  the  house  of  my  early  friend,  Cal- 
houn. We  mounted  the  horses  that  had  been  pre- 
pared for  us,  and  rode  out  of  the  city  through  the  nar- 
row streets  that  were  lined  with  aged  prickly  pears, 


STRIA  —  MOUNT     LEBANON.  303 

Our  side.  High  place  of  Baal. 

which  grow  in  rich  luxuriance,  and  yield  a  fruit  used 
in  great  abundance  by  the  natives.  We  passed 
through  large  groves  of  pines,  set  out  by  the  order 
of  Ibraham  Pasha,  of  Egypt,  and  came  upon  the 
olive  plantations,  so  common  in  the  Eastern  country. 
These  are  at  least  six  miles  in  extent,  and  yield  an 
immense  quantity  of  oil  for  export.  The  land  is  owned 
by  the  government,  but  a  thousand  different  persons 
may  be  owners  of  the  trees ;  and  the  amount  of  a 
man's  possessions  is  measured  by  the  number  of  his 
trees.  These  olive-trees  bear  every  other  year,  and 
all  are  barren  during  the  same  year. 

We  soon  came  to  the  village  of  Hadeth,  well  known 
as  the  place  in  which  Assad  Shidiak  resided,  whose 
early  sufferings  and  martyrdom  in  the  cause  of  Christ 
excited  such  wide-spread  interest  in  the  early  history 
of  this  Syrian  mission.  Off  at  the  left  we  passed  the 
hill  Deir  el  Skulah,  on  the  top  of  which  are  the  ruins 
of  the  temple  where  the  worship  of  Baal  was  once  ob- 
served. On  the  top  of  another  hill,  at  our  right,  was 
the  Greek  Catholic  convent,  whose  priests  were,  a 
year  or  two  ago,  in  America,  begging  large  sums  of 
money,  under  the  pretence  of  the  great  necessities  of 
this  convent,  which  actually  possesses  a  rich  valley 
and  highly  cultivated  lands,  yielding  a  large  revenue, 
and  providing  abundantly  against  the  possibility  of 
want  on  the  part  of  the  lazy  monks  whom  we  met 
on  our  way.  The  Maronites,  a  hundred  thousand  in 
number,  and  the  Druses  inhabit  this  region  of  country. 
As  we  advanced  we  came  in  contact  with  so  many 
objects  mentioned  in  Scripture,  that  we  began  indeed 


304        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Women's  horns.  Sheep  with  large  tails. 

to  feel  that  we  were  now  on  sacred  ground.  The  al- 
mond-tree, the  fig,  the  mulberry,  the  olive,  and  the  vine 
were  all  around;  here,  also,  was  the  kharib,  which 
yielded  the  pod  said  to  be  the  same  as  the  "husks 
which  the  swine  did  eat,"  mentioned  in  the  parable  of 
the  Prodigal  Son.  We  came  now  to  a  fountain,  before 
which  a  wall  of  solid  masonry  and  an  arch  had  been 
built,  with  the  water  pouring  through  an  orifice.  Wo- 
men were  there  drawing  the  water  with  pitchers  or 
jars,  which  they  brought  on  their  heads  and  earned 
away  in  the  same  manner.  Now,  for  the  first  time, 
we  saw  women  with  horns,  giving  us  at  once  the 
illustration  of  Scripture,  where  it  speaks  of  "the  horn 
of  the  righteous  being  exalted,"  etc.  These  are  some- 
times made  of  silver,  or  brass,  or  tin,  but  more  com- 
monly of  baked  dough,  and  vary  from  eighteen  inches 
to  two  feet  in  length.  They  are  fitted  with  a  pad  to 
rest  on  the  top  of  the  head,  and  may  be  elevated  to 
any  angle  which  is  desired.  A  light  vail  is  thrown 
over  the  horn,  which  descends  from  it  to  cover  the 
head  and  shoulders.  In  seasons  of  sorrow  this  vail 
is  depressed  as  a  sign  of  mourning,  and  in  times  of 
joy  is  raised.  On  the  hills  which  we  are  now 
climbing  are  frequent  flocks  of  goats.  The  sheep,  of 
which  also  we  saw  great  numbers,  grow  to  an  enor- 
mous size,  and  have  tails  which  weigh  from  ten  to 
twenty,  and  even  forty,  fifty,  and  sixty  pounds.  In 
various  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  the  tail  of  this  sheep 
grows  to  such  immense  proportions  that  it  is  no  un- 
common thing  for  the  shepherd  to  place  a  little  car- 
riage behind  the  sheep,  for  its  tail  to  rest  upon ;  and 


SYRIA  —  MOUNT     LEBANON.  305 

Fattening  sheep.  My  friend's  house. 

I  was  told  that  here  it  often  becomes  so  heavy  as  to 
break  from  the  body  :  it  consists  of  an  enormous  lobe 
of  fat,  which  is  used  instead  of  lard ;  and  I  afterward 
ate  cake  that  was  made  with  it.  The  sheep  itself, 
when  well  fatted,  will  weigh  two  hundred  pounds ;  and 
great  care  is  taken  in  fattening  the  animal  in  order 
to  make  it  attain  its  greatest  weight.  It  is  fed  until 
it  is  unable  to  walk;  then  the  food  is  brought  to  it 
and  put  into  its  mouth,  and  even  after  it  is  unable  any 
longer  to  stand  upon  its  feet,  they  continue  to  feed  it 
as  it  lies  upon  the  ground.  As  long  as  it  will  eat 
they  endeavor  to  coax  its  appetite  with  whatever  nu- 
triment it  will  take. 

Night  overtook  us  as  we  were  ascending  the  hill, 
and  it  was  quite  dark  before  we  reached  the  house  of 
our  friend  Calhoun.  The  village  in  which  he  lives 
stands  upon  the  side  of  Mount  Lebanon,  command- 
ing a  wide  view  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  houses, 
built  of  stone  and  a  single  story  high,  usually  stand 
with  their  backs  toward  the  mountain,  while  the  roofs 
are  covered  with  earth,  and  either  sown  with  grass  or 
rolled  hard  with  a  round  stone,  which  we  often  saw 
lying  upon  the  tops  of  the  houses  for  that  purpose. 
Mr.  Calhoun  lives  in  a  house  at  least  two  hundred 
years  old,  for  which  he  pays  about  thirty  dollars  a 
year  rent.  Its  simplicity  and  antique  appearance  im- 
pressed me  with  its  peculiar  fitness  for  the  residence 
of  a  missionary  in  the  East.  Hard  by  his  dwelling 
is  the  boarding-school,  in  which  he  has  eighteen  young 
men  under  his  care,  pursuing  a  course  of  education 
not  only  in  the   Scriptures,  but  in  all  the   sciences 


306  EFROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Arab  scholars.  View  from  Lebanon. 

necessary  to  qualify  them  for  influence  and  usefulness 
in  the  world.  Some  of  them  have  already  been  fitted 
as  teachers,  and  have  gone  out  for  that  purpose  among 
their  countrymen.  I  examined  these  students  in 
philosophy  and  chemistry,  and  was  astonished  at  the 
degree  of  knowledge  they  had  attained,  but  even  more 
at  the  inquiries  which  they  addressed  to  me,  in  refer- 
ence to  scientific  subjects,  of  which  they  had  read  in 
the  newspapers  that  had  come  to  the  mission  from 
America.  They  were  anxious  to  know  if  it  were  true 
that  a  man  had  ever  walked  in  America  like  a  fly, 
with  his  feet  against  the  wall  and  his  head  toward  the 
floor.  When  I  assured  them  that  I  had  repeatedly 
seen  the  performance,  they  were  highly  gratified,  and 
requested  an  explanation.  Accordingly  I  stretched 
myself  upon  a  bench,  and  to  their  infinite  amusement 
illustrated  the  process.  When  I  came  to  leave  the 
school,  they  crowded  around  me,  covered  my  hand 
with  kisses,  and  begged  me  to  come  and  see  them 
again. 

The  next  morning,  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  we  made  an 
excursion  to  one  of  the  loftiest  summits  of  Lebanon ; 
from  which  forty  villages,  vast  plains,  and  the  sea  it- 
self, are  at  once  brought  before  the  eye.  From  this 
spot,  call  Mutaiyer,  or  the  Flying-off  Place,  we  saw 
the  cities  of  Sidon,  and  Sarepta,  and  Tyre.  This 
point  right  before  us  is  the  place  where  Antioclms  met 
the  Egyptians  at  sea,  and  vanquished  them.  All  this 
is  the  land  of  the  Canaanites,  out  of  which  they  were 
never  driven.  A  spot  could  hardly  be  found  in  the 
whole  range  of  Lebanon  from  which  so  many  points 


SYRIA MOUNT     LEBANON.  307 

Tomb  of  a  saint.  Cedars  of  Lebanon. 

of  interest  in  sacred  and  profane  history  are  to  be 
taken  in  at  a  single  view.  A  short  distance  off,  we 
visited  the  tomb  of  a  Druse  saint,  consisting  of  four 
square  walls  of  stone  surmounted  with  a  low  dome. 
Within  were  the  oil  cans  and  lamps  that  were  burnt 
over  his  head  every  night,  when  he  was  first  buried, 
and  afterward  not  so  often — their  theory  being  that 
the  soul  visits  the  grave  of  the  body  for  a  consider- 
able time  after  it  is  buried,  and  then  takes  possession 
of  the  body  of  some  one  else  that  is  born  into  the 
world,  thus  becoming  his  regular  successor.  The  old 
doctrine  of  metempsychosis  and  the  new  theory  of  a 
Boston  divine,  were  made  the  subject  of  discussion  as 
we  stood  over  the  bones  of  this  saint. 

On  the  eastern  side  of  the  hill  is  the  valley  of  Dah- 
mour,  through  which  the  river  pursues  a  meandering 
course  toward  the  sea.  The  heights  of  Lebanon  above 
are  covered  with  snow;  and  the  ridges,  which  are 
many  miles  in  extent,  and  are  remarkable  for  their 
form  and  height,  form  the  backbone  of  the  range. 
The  cedars  of  Scripture  are  fifty  miles  from  here — a 
grove  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  circum- 
ference, carefully  guarded  by  the  Maronite  priests. 
Some  of  them  are  claimed  to  be  twenty-five  hundred 
years  old.  None  of  them  are  cut  now ;  and  there  is  a 
superstitious  notion  prevalent,  that  if  any  one  boils 
milk  with  the  wood,  it  will  turn  to  blood,  and  that  if 
any  one  takes  away  part  of  the  tree  without  leave,  he 
will  be  visited  by  a  fearful  sickness. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bird  are  associated  with  Mr.  Calhoun 
and  his  wife  in  their  interesting  labors  in  this  mission 


308        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Nineveh  of  Syria.  Venus  and  Adonis. 

at  Mount  Lebanon ;  and,  secluded  as  they  are  from 
society,  I  have  met  in  none  of  my  visits  in  the  East 
any  families  who  seemed  to  be  happier  in  their  work 
than  they.  I  parted  from  them  with  tender  regret, 
blessing  God  that  he  puts  it  into  the  hearts  of  any  of 
his  children  thus  to  deny  themselves  for  the  sake  of 
giving  light  to  those  who  sit  in  darkness. 

Jan.  7.  Dr.  Eli  Smith  proposed  an  excursion  to 
the  "  Nineveh  of  Syria."  Mr.  Whiting,  JNIr.  Bird,  and 
Mr.  Eddy,  with  some  of  the  ladies  of  the  mission, 
joined  us.  Two  young  ladies,  natives  of  the  land, 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Whit- 
ing, rode  on  white  donkeys,  and  dressed  in  the  native 
costume,  with  white  vails  falling  over  their  shoulders, 
made  a  striking  feature  in  our  party  as  we  set  off  on 
our  horses  for  a  ride  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.  We 
passed  the  spot  where  it  is  said  that  St.  George  killed 
the  Dragon,  an  event  so  famous  that  it  is  celebrated 
in  painting  and  sculpture  in  churches  dedicated  to  the 
saint.  Over  an  ancient  Roman  bridge,  and  along  a 
road  that  still  bears  the  pavement  which  those  con- 
querors laid,  and  round  milestones  which  they  set  up, 
and  which  still  lie  or  stand,  marking  the  miles  to 
Beyroot,  we  came  to  a  narrow  pass,  where  a  spur  of 
Mount  Lebanon  crowds  close  to  the  sea.  Just  above  is 
the  mouth  of  the  ancient  river  Lycus,  and  still  farther 
up  are  the  ruins  of  Akfeh,  where  was  once  the  temple 
of  Yenus,  and  the  scene  of  the  original  fable  of  the 
death  of  Adonis.  The  river  afterward  took  his  name, 
and  at  every  return  of  the  anniversary  of  his  death 
the  waters  were  tinged  with  his  blood.     Dupuis  sup- 


SYRIA  —  MOUNT    LEBANON.  309 

Inscriptions  on  the  rocks.  Figures. 

poses  that  the  red  color  was  produced  by  an  artifice 
of  the  priests  ;  but  it  is  more  likely  that  the  anniver- 
sary came  at  the  rainy  season,  when  the  red  soil  of 
Lebanon  would  be  washed  down  and  tinge  the  stream. 
This  river  springs  out  of  a  cave  in  the  side  of  a  preci- 
pice several  hundred  feet  high. 

The  only  passage  for  an  army  from  the  north  to 
come  down  upon  Syria  and  then  upon  Egypt,  or  for 
the  Syrians  and  Egyptians  to  go  up,  would  be  along 
the  shore  of  the  sea ;  and  here  the  mountain  presses 
upon  it  so  closely  that  a  narrow  passage,  easily  de- 
fended, is  left,  and  to  make  it  in  the  face  of  opposition, 
would  be  quite  as  great  an  exploit  as  to  force  the  gate 
of  Thermopylae.  The  armies  that  in  ancient  times 
have  been  here,  have  therefore  left  in  the  face  of  the 
rocks  records  to  mark  the  event.  These  have  been 
engraved  upon  brass  tablets  and  let  into  the  rocks,  or 
tablets  have  been  cut  into  the  face  of  the  precipice,  and 
the  letters  carved  in  the  stone.  Some  of  them  are 
Roman,  and  others  Arabic ;  some  are  Assyrian,  and 
others  Egyptian,  with  figures  and  characters  that  dis- 
tinctly mark  each  of  these  people.  The  brazen  plates 
have  been  removed,  and  in  some  cases  the  inscription 
of  a  succeeding  conqueror  has  been  made  in  the  rock 
from  which  it  was  taken.  On  one  of  them,  the  figure 
of  a  man  with  a  raised  and  extended  arm  is  holding  a 
ball.  The  winged  globe  of  Egypt  is  frequent.  It  is 
thought  that  the  Assyrian  and  Egyptain  armies  were 
here  at  the  same  time.  The  Egyptian  hieroglyphics 
are  supposed  to  relate  to  Remesis,  the  Sesostris  of 
old. 


310  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Horse-race. 


Seated  on  the  stones  near  the  sea-side,  and  in  the 
midst  of  these  monuments  of  the  days  of  Sennacherib 
and  Alexander,  we  took  our  lunch,  a  missionary  pic- 
nic, and  talked  of  the  scenes  that  must  have  tran- 
spired on  this  eventful  spot,  when  the  armies  of  the 
South  and  the  North  contended  here  for  the  right  of 
way. 

Our  return  was  signalized  by  an  adventure  with 
a  drunken  Arab,  who,  mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  rode 
up  to  our  party  and  challenged  any  body  to  run  a 
race  with  him  on  the  beach.  He  became  so  intoler- 
able in  his  talk,  that  we  were  finally  obliged  to  gratify 
him,  to  get  rid  of  him ;  and  one  of  us,  the  best  mount- 
ed, gave  rein  to  his  Arabian  steed,  and  away  went  the 
two  like  the  wind.  The  beach  was  hard  and  smooth 
as  a  threshing-floor.  The  horses  were  full  bloods, 
and  splendid  creatures ;  and  as  this  was  the  first 
horse-race  I  ever  saw  in  my  life,  and  the  animals 
were  running  for  the  pleasure  of  it,  and  neither  of 
them  was  required  to  go  faster  than  he  pleased,  I 
enjoyed  it  greatly.  Of  course,  our  side  beat,  and  the 
crest-fallen  Arab,  left  behind,  soon  left  us  altogether. 
These  full-blooded  Arabian  horses  give  us  an  idea 
of  the  poetry  of  motion.  They  move  as  if  they  de- 
served wings,  seeming  to  spurn  the  earth,  and  with 
their  long  limbs  prancing  so  gracefully,  that  we  were 
sure  they  enjoyed  the  field  and  the  saddle  as  much  as 
their  riders.  In  the  ship  in  which  we  returned  to 
France  was  one  of  them  on  his  way  to  Lamartine,  who 
had  sent  out  to  Syria  for  an  Arab  steed.  One  of  the 
missionaries    had    a    horse    which   might   have    been 


SYEIA MOUNT     LEBANON.  311 

Agrippa.  Titus.  Beyroot 

bought  here  for  fifty  or  sixty  dollars,  but  lie  would 
bring  a  thousand  readily  in  New  York. 

Spending  several  days  at  Beyroot,  I  had  frequent 
opportunities  like  this  of  seeing  every  thing  of  inter- 
est in  and  about  it,  and  was  largely  indebted  to  the 
American  Consul  and  the  missionaries  for  their  atten- 
tions and  aid.  The  town  is  very  ancient,  and  the  col- 
umns that  are  now  lying  as  a  foundation  under  the 
wharf  on  which  we  landed,  show  that  it  has  once  been 
a  city  with  imposing  edifices.  Agrippa  built  a  theatre, 
and  Titus  here  gave  splendid  spectacles,  hi  which 
gladiators  fought,  and  Jews,  whom  he  brought  from  the 
ruined  Holy  City,  were  slain.  Now  the  houses  are 
mostly  very  plain,  built  of  stone,  and  the  streets  nar- 
row and  gloomy,  with  a  path  in  the  centre  for  camels, 
who  require  a  soft  road  to  travel.  The  city  rises 
gradually  from  the  shore,  and  on  the  hill  are  extensive 
gardens  and  orchards,  in  the  midst  of  which  are  hand- 
some villas  overlooking  the  sea.  Behind  the  town, 
and  away  to  the  north,  the  majestic  heights  of  Leb- 
anon are  always  in  view ;  not  alone  venerable  for  the 
associations  they  stir,  but  solemn  in  their  hoary  grand- 
eur, terraced  and  tilled  to  the  summit,  teeming  with 
villages,  flocks,  and  herds. 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

SYRIA    AND    PALESTINE. 

Punctual  Dragoman — Leave-taking — Evil  Eye — Khan  Khulda — Sar- 
cophagi— Cross  a  River  and  lunch  under  a  Palm — Mr.  Calhoun 
joins  us — Residence  of  Lady  Hester  Stanhope — Singular  Facts — 
Jonah's  Tavern — A  roving  Englishman — Escape  from  Drowning — 
Approach  Sidon — Orange  Groves — Jackals — Tents  pitched — Rev. 
Mr.  Thompson  welcomes  us  to  Sidon — The  Vice-Consul — Night 
on  the  Wall— Old  City — Leave  in  the  Morning— Horde  of  Rob- 
bers — Ancient  Aqueduct — Sarepta — Tomb  of  Elijah — Tyre — El- 
ders in  the  Gate— Rabble — Streets— Hovels— Sea-side— Columns 
under  Water — Walls — Dinner — Night  in  Tent  —  Alarm  — Ras- 
el-Ain— Acre— Oriental  Tavern — Safura — Cana  of  Galilee— Naz- 
areth— Convent — Hospice — Missionaries. 

Monday,  Jan.  9.  Antonio  was  punctual.  Of  very 
few  men  in  the  East,  to  say  nothing  of  the  West, 
could  this  complimentary  observation  be  made.  But 
he  was  in  such  haste  to  be  off,  that  he  sent  for  our 
luggage  on  Saturday  evening — and  I  make  no  doubt 
he  broke  the  Sabbath  badly  in  packing — that  he 
might  be  ready  to  set  off  at  nine  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing. 

Our  party  was  now  to  consist  of  four  American 
travellers,  with  Antonio  the  dragoman,  Achmet  the 
cook,  Habib  the  servant,  and  four  muleteers,  with 
their  mules  to  carry  the  tents,  provisions,  and  the 
baggage  of  the  party.  We  were  mounted,  but  not 
well.     We  had  made  plenty  of  stipulations  with  An- 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  313 

Promising  man.  Farewell. 

tonio  on  this  head — and  had  made  two  or  three  excur- 
sions on  horseback  by  way  of  testing  the  animals — and 
he  had  made  fair  promises  to  provide  horses  whose 
virtues  were  beyond  suspicion,  and  their  perseverance 
unto  the  end  of  the  journey  unquestionable. 

Alas  for  all  human  promises !  A  Syrian  drago- 
man's word  is  no  better  than  any  other  man's.  But 
a  large  committee  of  the  Arab  citizens  of  Beyroot 
were  present  in  the  court  of  the  hotel  where  we  met 
for  the  start,  and  they  were  unanimous  in  the  opinion 
that  a  finer  set  of  horses  could  not  be  procured  in  their 
country ;  and  as  we  were  impatient  to  be  moving,  we 
gave  the  word,  and  were  off. 

We  called  at  the  doors  of  our  missionary  friends, 
whose  hospitalities  we  had  been  enjoying  for  sev- 
eral delightful  days,  and  bade  them  farewell — a  reluct- 
ant farewell ;  and  received  from  them  at  parting  vari- 
ous little  creature  comforts  in  the  way  of  eatables,  such 
as  we  should  find  refreshing  in  the  wilderness,  beyond 
the  substantial  that  Antonio  had  provided. 

Several  of  the  gentlemen,  Dr.  Smith,  Mr.  Whiting, 
Mr.  Bird,  Mr.  Hurter,  and  Mr.  Eddy,  were  mounted, 
and  rode  out  with  us  through  the  gardens,  and  half 
an  hour  beyond  the  city,  along  the  field  of  sand  which 
is  gradually  covering  the  hill  and  approaching  the 
city.  Dr.  Smith  told  me  it  had  advanced  2500  rods 
since  he  came  to  Beyroot.  Nothing  grows  upon  it 
but  a  species  of  wild  onion,  and  the  colycinth,  a  small 
melon,  which  we  could  see  lying  like  lemons  that  had 
been  dropped  by  a  passing  traveller.  Under  the 
shade  of  an  old  sycamore  tree  we  halted,  and  embrac- 
Vol.  II.—  O 


314        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


The  Evil  Eye.  Houses  of  the  dead. 

ing  our  brethren  of  the  mission,  took  leave  of  them,  . 
and  they  returned  to  their  work  while  we  pursued 
our  journey. 

Our  horses  were  decorated  with  beads  and  shells 
attached  to  their  head-gear,  to  protect  them  from  the 
Evil  Eye.  It  was  the  first  time  we  had  come  in  con- 
tact with  the  charms  so  common  among  savage  and 
semi-civilized  people ;  and  we  had  not  expected  to  be 
making  use  of  them  at  any  time  to  shield  us  from  the 
powers  of  darkness.  I  laughed  at  them  when  Antonio 
explained  their  use,  and  he  said  that  he  had  no  faith 
in  them,  but  the  others  had,  and  would  have  them. 

Three  hours  from  the  city  we  come  to  khan  Khul- 
da,  where  is  a  fountain  and  a  stopping-place  for  trav- 
ellers. Strewed  over  the  ground  were  a  great  number 
of  huge  sarcophagi,  hewn  out  of  stone,  the  covers  of 
some  lying  near  them.  They  may  have  been  deposited 
here  in  a  cemetery,  and  this  idea  is  confirmed  by  the 
fact  that  a  little  way  up  the  hill  we  found  several 
tombs  cut  into  the  side  of  the  solid  rocks.  A  city, 
whose  sepulchres  remain  to  this  day,  has  doubtless 
once  stood  upon  this  spot.  The  living  and  their 
abodes  have  disappeared — the  houses  of  the  dead  re- 
main. 

Not  long  after  leaving  Khulda  we  crossed  the  river 
Damur,  and,  on  the  southern  bank,  dismounted  for 
lunch.  Habib  spread  mats  upon  the  sand,  and  hap- 
pily under  the  shade  of  some  noble  palms ;  for,  winter 
as  it  was,  we  found  a  shade  agreeable  in  the  heat  of 
the  day.  From  his  ample  stores  Achmet  produced 
cold   chickens  and  various  relishes,  with  abundance 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  315 

An  old  friend.  Joyful  meeting. 

of  fine  oranges,  which  made  a  repast  fit  for  a  king. 
While  we  were  eating,  a  party  of  Arabs,  with  half  a 
dozen  camels,  crossed  the  stream  as  we  had  done, 
and  pursued  their  journey,  taking  no  notice  of  our 
party.  We  are  on  ground  that  is  famous  in  history. 
Antiochus  the  Great  and  the  armies  of  Ptolemy  fought, 
218  years  before  Christ,  and  the  Egyptians  were  de- 
feated, with  terrible  slaughter,  on  the  spot  that  now 
furnishes  us  a  table  in  the  wilderness. 

We  were  speaking  of  these  events  when  we  saw  in 
the  distance,  and  coming  down  the  hill,  the  man  of  all 
others  whom  we  had  desired  to  bring  with  us  on  our 
journey,  my  old  friend  Mr.  Calhoun.  He  had  left 
his  home  at  Abieh,  on  Lebanon,  and  rode  down,  ex- 
pecting to  intercept  us  on  our  way  to  Sidon,  and,  if 
possible,  to  accompany  us  into  the  interior.  A  white 
turbaned  Druse  was  riding  a  mule  by  his  side,  and 
in  a  few  moments  after  we  had  spied  them  they 
dashed  into  the  stream,  and  joined  us  at  our  repast. 
The  Druseman  was  a  neighbor  of  Mr.  Calhoun  in  the 
mountain,  and  was  very  willing  to  be  employed  in 
our  service,  if  we  would  take  him  along.  We  hailed 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  Calhoun  with  gratitude  and  joy. 
We  had  endeavored  to  persuade  him  to  join  us  before 
we  set  off,  as  his  health  required  that  he  should  leave 
his  work  and  travel  for  a  while ;  but  he  feared  that 
the  weather  might  be  unfavorable,  and  that  he  should 
suffer  from  the  exposure.  But  he  was  now  with  us, 
and  we  thanked  God,  and  took  courage,  as  Paul  did 
when  he  saw  his  brethren  at  the  Three  Taverns. 

Off  at  the  left,  on  the  brow  of  the  hills,  is  the  vil- 


316  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Lady  Esther  Stanhope.  Jonah's  Tavern. 

lage  where  Lady  Esther  Stanhope  led  so  strange  a 
life,  and  died  so  miserable  a  death.  The  Rev.  Mr. 
Thompson,  of  Sidon,  the  only  European,  except  the 
British  Consul,  who  was  present  when  she  was  bur- 
ied, gave  me  many  particulars  of  this  extraordinary 
woman.  By  many  she  was  regarded  as  insane,  and 
doubtless  she  was  on  the  subject  of  the  personal  reign 
of  Christ.  Of  noble  family  and  handsome  fortune, 
she  forsook  her  friends  and  home  in  England,  and  here, 
on  the  southern  slope  of  Lebanon,  established  her  res- 
idence, waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  The  eccen- 
tric missionary,  Wolffe,  was  a  great  favorite  of  hers, 
and  while  he  was  here,  she  kept  two  horses  ready  sad- 
dled and  bridled,  which  were  washed  every  day  with 
soap-suds,  and  always  stood  in  waiting  for  her  and  her 
friend  to  go  forth  and  meet  the  Lord,  whenever  it 
should  be  announced  that  he  was  coming.  Here  she 
secluded  herself  from  the  world,  refusing  to  see  stran- 
gers, unless  they  came  with  such  introductions  as 
seemed  to  impose  a  necessity  upon  her  of  receiving 
them.  She  died  alone.  When  she  was  so  far  gone 
as  to  be  unable  to  move,  her  servants  plundered  her 
apartments,  even  carrying  off  her  jewels  before  her 
eyes ;  and  some  of  them  made  themselves  rich  by  the 
trade  into  which  they  entered  with  the  property  of 
Lady  Esther. 

On  the  shore  of  the  sea  we  came  to  a  rude  house 
of  refreshment  called  Jonah's  Tavern.  It  is  the  spot 
where  tradition  says  that  the  disobedient  prophet  was 
cast  up  by  the  great  fish.  Antonio  asked  me  if  I  had 
ever  heard  of  the  story  of  Jonah  and  the  Whale,  and 


SYEIA     AND     PALESTINE.  317 


The  whale  story. On  his  own  hook. 

as  I  did  not  appear  to  be  well  informed  on  the  sub- 
ject, he  related  the  circumstances  as  a  tradition  he 
had  heard  of  a  man  being  swallowed  by  a  whale,  and 
making  his  escape  at  this  place.  He  made  sad  work 
of  the  facts,  but  satisfied  his  hearer.  Crossing  a 
bold  promontory  by  steps  cut  into  the  rock,  making 
a  difficult  and  somewhat  dangerous  pass,  we  came 
down  again  upon  the  sandy  beach,  and  pushed  on 
toward  Sidon,  which  we  could  see  on  a  point  of  land 
before  us,  but  receding  as  we  approached. 

We  fell  in  with  a  young  Englishman,  whom  Mr. 
Calhoun  had  often  me.t  in  Lebanon,  and  who  was  a 
sort  of  missionary  on  his  own  account,  wandering 
among  the  Arabs,  and  depending  on  the  good  provi- 
dence of  God  for  his  daily  bread,  refusing  to  have 
any  connection  with  the  missionaries,  but  often  re- 
sorting to  them  when  in  straits.  We  invited  him, 
as  he  was  travelling  in  our  direction,  to  fall  into  our 
party ;  and  we  even  offered  him  a  mule  to  ride,  for 
the  poor  fellow  was  afoot.  But  he  declined  all  our 
advances ;  and  after  walking  by  the  side  of  us  for  an 
hour  or  two,  fell  behind,  in  company  with  two  or 
three  of  the  natives,  who  were  bound  to  Sidon.  A 
little  son  of  Mr.  Thompson  came  galloping  up  the 
beach  from  Sidon,  bringing  us  the  salutations  of  his 
parents,  who  had  heard  that  we  were  coming,  and 
they  had  sent  him  forward  to  conduct  us  at  once  to 
their  house.  He  was  our  guide  over  the  river  Auly, 
and  probably  it  was  owing  to  his  knowledge  of  the 
stream  that  we  were  able  to  ford  it  in  safety.  This 
we  did  ;  but  the  young  Englishman,  coming  on  about 


318  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Half-drowned.  Approaching  Sidon. 

half  an  hour  afterward,  attempted  to  cross  very 
nearly  at  the  same  place,  lost  his  footing,  got  into  a 
deep  hole,  where  the  water  was  far  beyond  his  depth, 
and  he  would  have  been  drowned  but  for  the  timely 
aid  of  the  natives  who  were  with  him,  who  got  him 
by  the  hair  of  his  head  and  drew  him  out.  Now  we 
are  on  the  great  Phoenician  plain.  We  are  near  the 
city  of  Sidon ;  and  for  a  mile  or  more  we  rode  through 
splendid  orchards  of  oranges,  loaded  with  fruit,  and 
tempting  to  the  eye — like  apples  of  gold,  most  beauti- 
ful. The  sun  was  setting;  and  Sidon,  the  ancient 
and  once  glorious,  was  lying  between  us  and  his  go- 
ing down.  All  these  fields,  now  teeming  with  groves, 
were  once  covered  with  the  magnificent  city,  and  the 
spurs  of  Lebanon,  which  here  come  down  almost  to 
the  sea,  were  crowned  with  the  villas  of  the  Sidon- 
ians,  whose  merchandise  was  borne  in  ships  to  the 
ends  of  the  then  known  world.  The  shades  of  even- 
ing drew  around  us,  and  the  howls  of  the  jackal  be- 
gan to  be  heard  as  we  approached  the  walls  of  the 
city.  Outside,  and  not  far  from  the  gate,  our  men 
had  already  pitched  their  snow-white  tents,  and  were 
far  along  with  their  preparations  for  dinner  when  we 
arrived.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson  was  there,  await- 
ing our  coming,  and  invited  us  all  to  his  house.  We 
were  too  many  to  consent  to  such  a  tax  upon  his  hos- 
pitality ;  but  Mr.  Calhoun  and  I  went  in  with  him, 
leaving  the  younger  men  to  pass  the  night  on  the 
tented  field. 

We  learned  at  once  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  sur- 
rounding country  were  in  a  high  state  of  alarm  at 


SYKIA     AND     PALESTINE.  319 

Sidon.  Rev.  Mr.  Thompson. 

reports  that  a  horde  of  Nablous  robbers,  a  fierce  and 
lawless  set  of  men,  were  coming  to  embark  at  Bey- 
root  for  Constantinople  to  aid  the  Turks  in  the  war. 
The  whole  region  round  about  us  was  in  commotion, 
and  the  people  were  bringing  their  effects  within  the 
walls,  for  protection  from  the  approaching  army. 

The  houses  on  this  side  of  the  city  are  built  on  the 
wall,  and  look  off  into  the  country.  The  gate  was 
closed  upon  us  as  we  entered,  and  we  walked  through, 
the  narrow  and  winding  streets,  dirty  and  broken,  for 
a  quarter  of  a  mile,  before  we  found  the  house  of  our 
kind  host.  He  was  formerly  a  missionary  at  Bey- 
root,  but  has  recently  established  the  station  here, 
where  he  is  greatly  encouraged  in  his  labors.  I  met 
no  man  in  the  East  who  is  more  thoroughly  qualified 
for  usefulness  than  Mr.  Thompson.  His  contribu- 
tions to  geographical  science  have  been  valuable.  His 
family — an  accomplished  wife,  two  sons,  and  daugh- 
ter— received  us  with  great  warmth  of  hospitality, 
and,  seated  around  then'  board,  we  soon  forgot  the 
fatigues  of  a  long  day  of  travel,  and  felt  ourselves 
thoroughly  at  home  in  Sidon,  by  the  sea-side. 

While  we  were  at  table,  the  independent  young  En- 
glishman made  his  appearance,  having  been  drawn 
out  of  the  water  after  he  had  sunk  two  or  three  times. 
Having  no  change  of  clothes,  he  made  his  way  to  the 
house  of  the  good  missionary,  whose  wardrobe  was 
put  at  his  service,  and  he  joined  us  in  the  parlor. 
With  as  much  faith  in  Providence  as  this  youth,  I 
thought  he  got  this  unexpected  bath,  and  came  very 
near  losing  his  life,  because  he  did  not  embrace  the 


320  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Evening  party.  On  the  walls. 

opportunity  the  Lord  provided  for  him  of  coming 
safely  to  Sidon  with  us.  He  chose  to  look  out  for 
himself,  and  so  fell  into  the  river.  But  he  learned 
nothing,  being  too  wise  in  his  own  conceit  to  be  taught 
even  by  the  Lord. 

Ibrahim  Nukkly,  the  Yice-Consul,  called  upon  us 
in  the  course  of  the  evening — a  very  polite  and  intel- 
ligent man.  He  had  heard  much  of  the  disturbed 
state  of  the  country,  and  thought  it  dangerous  to 
travel,  but  still  did  not  dissuade  us  from  making  the 
experiment.  He  offered  us  hospitalities  if  we  would 
remain  and  visit  him  in  his  handsomely-furnished 
house  on  the  wall,  and  not  far  from  our  friend's.  The 
young  men  also  came  in  from  the  tent,  and  were 
guided  to  Mr.  Thompson's,  so  that  we  had  quite  an 
evening  party,  embracing  friends  from  four  or  five  dif- 
ferent countries,  who  found  mutual  pleasure  in  this 
reunion  in  Sidon.  Late  at  night  I  retired  to  sleep. 
My  windows  looked  out  upon  the  plain,  in  which  was 
an  ancient  cemetery,  with  monuments  of  the  dead 
lying  and  standing  around.  In  one  corner  of  it  were 
the  tents,  in  which  my  young  friends  were  sleeping. 
The  moon  was  shining  brightly  upon  the  peaceful 
scene,  and  over  the  groves  of  mulberry  and  oranges 
the  mountains  of  Lebanon  rose  in  the  distance.  I 
was  immediately  on  the  wall  of  the  city,  as  the  side 
of  the  house  was  but  an  upward  continuation  of  the 
wall,  and  could  at  once  perceive  how  Paul  was  let 
down  by  a  basket  from  just  such  a  house  as  this,  and 
escaped  from  his  enemies.  It  was  my  first  visit  to  a 
city  so  old  as  to  be  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Genesis 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  321 

— *  The  governor. 

Story  of  the  city. . , 

and  the  Iliad  of  Homer.     It  was  one  of  the  bound- 
aries  of  the   Canaanites  (Gen.,  x.   19),   and  though 
given  to  Asher  in  the  division  of  the  promised  land, 
the  Israelites  never  conquered  it,  nor  its  great  rival 
Tyre.      Shalmenezer  knocked  at  its  gates,  and  enter- 
ed it' in  triumph  seven  hundred  and  twenty  years  be- 
fore Christ,  and  the  Assyrian  and  Persian  ruled  over 
Phoenicia  for  four  hundred  years,  when  Artaxerxes 
Ochus  destroyed  the   city.     Eebuilt,  it  was  taken, 
332  B.C.,  by  Alexander  the  Great.    But  a  greater  than 
these  mighty  men  had  been  in  "the  coasts  of  Tyre 
and  Sidon ;"  and  after  his  coming  and  his  death,  the 
successive  armies  of  the  Crusaders  had  marched  along 
under  these  walls  and  on  this  shore  on  their  way  to 
the  Holy  City;  and  in  a.d.  1111,  King  Baldwin  I. 
planted  the  banner  of  the  Cross  on  its  ramparts.    Be- 
fore that  century  closed  the  Moslem  had  it  again ;  but 
Saladin,  after  laying  it  waste,  left  it  an  easy  prey  to 
the  Crusaders,  and  from  that  time  onward  it  has  passed 
through  the  hands  of  various  conquerors.     It  is  now, 
as  is  all  this  country,  under  the  dominion  of  the  Sul- 
tan of  Turkey,  who   appoints  the  governor;    and  I 
learned  that,  for  some  years,  the  man  who  had  held 
-this  office  was  one  of  the  servants  of  Lady  Esther 
Stanhope,  who  robbed  her  of  her  money  while  she 
was  on  her  dying  bed. 

There  are  not  more  than  six  or  seven  thousand  in- 
habitants in  Sidon  now.  Its  commerce  is  small,  the 
chief  exports  being  derived  from  the  large  and  beauti- 
ful gardens  and  orchards  of  oranges,  pomegranates, 
figs,  almonds,  etc.,  which  adorn  the  environs  of  this 

0* 


322  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

About  the  tovni.  -  Ladies  on  the  wall. 

old  town.  The  harbor  is  a  poor  one,  not  accessible 
for  vessels  of  much  draught  of  water.  An  ancient 
castle  on  the  sea  dates  in  the  time  of  the  Crusaders ; 
and  other  ruins  carry  us  back  to  a  period  long  before 
their  day. 

It  will  be  thought  a  weakness,  but  I  could  not  sleep 
for  a  long  time  after  retiring  to  my  pleasant  chamber, 
"the  prophet's  chamber  on  the  wall."  It  was  so 
strange  to  be  here,  in  the  midst  of  such  old  memories, 
that  I  lay  awake  to  enjoy  them  instead  of  dreaming. 

Jan.  10.  I  rose  with  the  sun,  and  looked  out  on 
the  tents  of  my  brethren  who  were  already  astir, 
walking  about  Sidon  and  telling  her  towers.  Mr. 
Calhoun  consented  to  join  the  party,  and  to  accom- 
pany us  on  our  journey ;  and  to  add  to  our  enjoy- 
ments still  more,  Mr.  William  Thompson,  the  son  of 
our  host,  mounted  his  horse,  and,  with  his  father's 
blessing,  became  our  fellow-traveller  also.  The  fields 
and  gardens  were  green  as  in  June  this  morning 
when  we  started  from  Sidon.  As  we  rode  away  from 
the  city,  we  looked  back  and  saw  Mrs.  Thompson 
and  her  daughter  on  the  wall,  to  whom  we  waved  a 
distant  farewell,  and  then  rode  on  under  long  rows  of 
the  tamarisk  tree  and  groves  of  acacia.  Half  an 
hour  from  Sidon  we  came  upon  a  broken  column  with 
a  Latin  inscription,  recording  the  victories  of  Septimus 
Severas,  and  a  few  sarcophagi  were  by  the  way,  just 
before  we  reached  the  dry  bed  of  the  river  Sauik. 

No  sooner  had  we  crossed  it  than  we  saw  in  the 
distance  the  expected  horde  of  robbers  from  Nablous, 
who  were  reported  to  us  as  laying  waste  the  country. 


SYRIA    AND     PALESTINE.  323 

The  robber  horde.  The  Aga  and  officers. 

The  parties  in  advance  were  mostly  on  foot,  with  a 
few  mules  and  several  camels,  on  which  women  were 
mounted.  A  wild  set  of  men  they  appeared  to  be, 
and  of  as  many  colors  as  the  troops  we  had  on  the 
steamer  from  Smyrna.  They  gave  us  no  friendly 
salutations,  but  fired  their  guns  over  our  heads  to 
frighten  us,  and  went  on  in  high  glee,  laughing  and 
shouting  as  if  they  were  off  on  a  frolic.  Soon  we  met 
the  main  body,  three  or  four  hundred,  with  banners 
flying,  and  long  spears,  and  Crescent  standards  glisten- 
ing in  the  sun.  They  were  in  admirable  disorder, 
preserving  only  the  appearance  of  being  in  ranks,  but 
all  pressing  on  in  hot  haste.  The  Aga  or  captain, 
handsomely  dressed,  was  mounted  on  a  splendid  horse, 
and  saluted  us  with  great  politeness  as  we  passed 
him.  His  officers,  also  on  horseback,  spoke  respect- 
fully as  we  came  to  them ;  but  no  sooner  had  they 
gone  by,  than  the  rear  of  the  army  surrounded  us, 
the  musicians  struck  up  their  harsh  discords,  and  all 
clamored  vociferously  for  backshish.  We  were  at 
their  mercy  completely,  and  probably  they  would 
have  taken  what  we  were  unwilling  to  give,  had  not 
the  Aga  fortunately  looked  behind,  and  seeing  what 
was  in  the  wind,  came  thundering  back  with  his 
mounted  officers  on  their  flying  steeds,  and  swinging 
their  battle-axes,  and  some  of  them  drawing  their 
sabres,  charged  in  upon  their  own  soldiers  and  drove 
them  into  the  ranks,  delivering  us  from  their  importu- 
nities, which  were  becoming  more  pressing  than  was 
agreeable.  I  told  Antonio  to  give  the  musicians  a  few 
piastres,  as  they  had  sought  honestly  to  charm  us  out 


324  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  Flowery.  Sarepta. 

of  our  money ;  and  then  we  left  them,  glad  to  have  got 
by  so  well.  Poor  fellows  !  In  less  than  six  months 
the  most  of  you  will  be  rotting  on  the  banks  of  the 
Danube :  few  of  you  will  ever  go  rioting  along  these 
shores  again. 

Two  hours  from  Sidon  we  crossed  the  river  Zahe- 
rany — "the  Flowery,"  a  stream  that  bursts  suddenly 
out  of  the  mountains,  and  in  ten  miles  of  its  course  to 
the  sea  falls  three  thousand  feet.  An  ancient  Roman 
aqueduct  conveyed  the  water  from  this  river  to  Sidon, 
thirteen  miles,  over  hill  and  valley.  The  cement  is  at 
this  day  as  solid  as  the  stone  itself. 

A  large  mound — the  remains  of  ancient  fortifica- 
tions— stood  near  the  sea,  and  when  we  had  passed 
we  came  to  the  wide-spread  ruins  of  a  town,  where 
literally  not  one  stone  had  been  left  upon  another. 
Even  the  foundations  had  been  dug  over  to  get  out 
stone,  that  had  been  carried  to  Sidon.  It  is  the 
Zarephath  of  the  Old  Testament,  the  Sarepta  of  the 
New,  where  Elijah  dwelt  with  the  widow  whose  flour 
and  oil  never  failed,  and  whose  dead  son  the  prophet 
restored  to  life.  His  tomb  is  here,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  that  he  returned  from  heaven  to  be  buried 
in  it.  On  the  hill,  at  the  left  of  us,  is  the  modern 
village  of  Surafend;  and  the  site  of  the  ancient  city 
of  Sarepta  is  below.  It  is  believed  that,  when  our 
Lord  was  in  these  borders,  the  Syro-Phcenician  woman 
of  great  faith  came  from  Sarepta,  out  of  whose  daugh- 
ter he  cast  the  devil. 

We  turned  off  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  per- 
haps a  mile  from  the  shore,  and  under  the  overhang- 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  325 

Grotto.  Tombs.  Baal  -worship. 

ing  rocks  found  a  place  to  spread  the  table — that  is, 
to  lay  a  cloth  on  the  ground — and  take  our  refresh- 
ments at  noon.  Near  by  was  a  large  grotto  or  cave, 
in  which  two  or  three  camels  were  feeding.  It  had 
doubtless  served  as  a  stable  from  the  earliest  times. 
We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  mighty  sepulchre !  The 
whole  hillside  of  projecting  rocks  is  a  place  of  tombs. 
They  are  cut  out  of  the  solid  limestone,  with  an  en- 
trance about  three  feet  square.  We  stepped  into 
them,  and  found  niches  for  the  bodies,  usually  two 
or  three  in  each  tomb.  The  stone  doors  which  had 
once  swung  in  front  had  been  removed.  Before  the 
door  of  each  was  a  slight  excavation,  as  if  it  had  been 
made  for  a  bed  of  flowers.  At  least  five  hundred  of 
these  tombs  were  here.  It  is  about  halfway  between 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  may  have  been  the  cemetery  of 
one  or  the  other,  or  both  of  these  cities ;  or  what  is 
more  likely,  of  some  place  between  the  two,  that  has 
now  disappeared.  Around  the  point  of  the  hill,  and 
on  the  southern  side,  a  lofty  precipice  is  morticed 
with  holes  to  receive  the  ends  of  timbers  that  once 
supported  a  platform,  on  which  assemblies  have, 
doubtless,  been  gathered  in  the  worship  of  Baal ;  for 
here  was  one  of  his  high  places,  as  these  cisterns 
and  altars,  and  pits  to  receive  the  blood  that  flowed 
from  their  sacrifices,  abundantly  show.  Some  of  the 
excavations  we  can  give  no  account  of;  but  these 
steps  in  the  rock  that  lead  up  to  the  altars,  and  the 
broken  columns,  and  these  Corinthian  capitals  that 
are  strewed  around,  assure  us  that  here  was  once  a 
magnificent  temple,  in  sight  of  the   sea,  the   cities. 


326        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Ruins  of  temple.  mils  of  Paleettee. 

and  the  great  Phoenician  plain.  After  an  hour's 
clambering  among  these  rocks,  in  and  out  of  the 
tombs,  empty  and  furnishing  nothing  like  an  inscrip- 
tion or  sign  of  the  men  who  made  them,  we  resumed 
our  journey,  and  soon  came  upon  the  ruins  of  a  tem- 
ple where  nine  stones,  like  columns,  are  still  stand- 
ing erect,  with  confused  heaps  around  them.  The 
plain  we  are  now  traversing  is  tilled,  and  crops  of 
barley  and  wheat  are  raised  with  remarkable  success, 
considering  the  miserable  system  of  cultivation  pur- 
sued, and  that  no  manure  has  been  used  for  centuries. 

A  ruined  khan  was  at  the  river  Aswad,  which  we 
crossed  near  the  remains  of  an  ancient  Roman  bridge 
of  a  single  arch,  still  firm,  and  likely  to  stand  as  long 
as  it  has  stood  before.  From  this  point  we  see,  in  the 
far  distance  on  our  left,  the  summit  of  Mount  Her- 
mon,  now  clad  with  snow,  as  it  is  the  whole  of  the 
year.  It  is  part  of  a  range  of  hills,  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  sea,  and  showing  the  loftiest  pinnacles 
in  Syria.  Lebanon's  highest  point  is  9500  feet  above 
the  sea. 

Two  hours  this  side  of  Tyre  we  cross  the  river 
Leontes,  which  rises  at  Balbec,  and,  by  a  winding 
course,  finds  its  way  into  the  Mediterranean  at  this 
point.  An  old  caravansary,  with  immense  stones  in 
the  wall  over  the  door,  would  have  furnished  us  quar- 
ters for  the  night,  if  we  had  wished  to  stay ;  but  we 
pressed  on,  and  were  soon  in  sight  of  the  once  mag- 
nificent, now  miserable  city  of  Tyre.  Twenty  old 
men,  with  white  turbans  on  their  heads,  were  sitting 
at  the  gate,  smoking  and  chatting,  as  we  entered. 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  327 


Elders  at  the  gate.  Tyre. 

The  long  array  of  our  party  seemed  to  excite  no  curi- 
osity ;  they  merely  looked  up,  and  let  us  pass  with- 
out a  word.  In  all  these  Eastern  cities  we  found  this 
practice  of  "the  elders  sitting  at  the  gate,"  indicating 
that  they  are  men  of  some  importance,  not  confined 
to  the  drudgery  of  business,  but  taking  their  leisure, 
and  enjoying  the  cool  of  the  day.  Frequent  allusion 
is  made  to  the  custom  in  the  Old  Testament.  A  rab- 
ble of  men  and  boys  in  red  caps  were  in  the  streets, 
but  they  made  way  for  our  procession.  We  took  our 
course  through  the  narrow  and  muddy  channel  in  the 
middle  of  the  path,  left  in  this  state  for  the  feet  of 
camels ;  and  we  never  paused  in  oiu-  march  till  we 
passed  through  the  town  to  the  sea-side,  and  there 
pitched  our  tents.  In  the  clear  waters  before  us,  lie 
in  full  view  great  masses  of  broken  columns  and  cap- 
itals !  They  have  been  lying  there  for  many  cen- 
turies, silent  and  solemn  witnesses  of  the  former 
grandeur  of  Tyre,  that  once  sat  in  her  pride  upon  the 
sea.  On  this  sand  where  we  pitch  our  tents,  and 
where  nets  are  spread  to  dry,  were  her  palaces  and 
temples.  This  bay  was  once  filled  with  the  Tyrian 
fleets;  "her  merchants  were  princes,  and  her  traffick- 
ers the  honorable  of  the  earth."  But  terribly  has  the 
prophecy  (Ezekiel,  xxvi.  4,  5)  been  fulfilled ;  and  the 
evidence  is  before  our  eyes.  A  part  of  the  old  wall 
on  the  north  side  is  still  standing;  and  in  it  we  ob- 
served hewn  stones  twenty  feet  long  and  ten  feet 
thick — more  stupendous,  we  believed,  than  could  be 
raised  by  any  machinery  now  in  use.  We  are  now 
on  the  extreme  outward  verge  of  a  peninsula.     This 


328        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


was  an  island  on  which  ancient  Tyre  stood  in  her 
magnificence  and  beauty.  Alexander  the  Great  con- 
nected it  by  a  causeway  with  the  mainland,  and 
the  sand  has  gradually  accumulated  on  it  till  it  is 
about  half  a  mile  in  width.  Tyre  now,  undeserving 
the  name  of  a  city,  is  nothing  more  than  a  mass  of 
hovels,  one  story  high,  with  dirty,  crooked  streets, 
and  perhaps  three  thousand  people  in  them. 

We  had  time  to  visit  the  old  church  of  Eusebius — 
a  mere  ruin,  one  large  arch  at  the  eastern  end  of  it 
still  remaining,  and  enough  of  the  walls  to  mark  the 
dimensions  of  the  building,  which  Robinson  and 
Smith  suppose  to  have  been  250  feet  long  by  150 
wide.  The  vas|;  columns  of  red  Syenite  lying  around, 
were  evidences  of  the  former  magnificence  of  the  ca- 
thedral for  which  Eusebius  wrote  the  sermon  of  Con- 
secration, and  which  he  describes  as  the  most  splen- 
did of  all  the  temples  of  Phoenicia.  This  was  in  the 
beginning  of  the  fourth  century  of  the  Christian  era. 

The  Consul,  Yahab  Akad,  hearing  of  our  arrival, 
called  to  pay  his  respects,  and  invited  us  to  find  lodg- 
ings at  his  house  ;  but  we  had  made  provision  already 
under  our  own  tents,  and  declined  his  hospitality  ;  and 
few  would  believe  that  we  were  in  want  of  any  man's 
hospitality,  if  they  saw  the  dinner  that  Achmet  had 
provided.  It  was  ready  when  we  returned  from  sur- 
veying the  city,  and  I  subjoin  the  bill  of  fare,  with  the 
remark  that  it  was  no  better  than  on  other  days,  and 
left  us  no  room  or  right  to  complain.  We  had  soup, 
of  course,  and  then,  in  course,  boiled  chickens,  boiled 
mutton,  ham,  cauliflower,  salad,  and  eggs ;  pudding, 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  329 

Tent  life.  Midnight  alarm. 

figs,  nuts,  oranges,  and  a  cup  of  tea  or  coffee.  This 
was  our  usual  variety,  with  such  changes  as  the  mar- 
kets in  mud  villages  and  no  villages  afforded. 

This  was  to  be  my  first  night  in  a  tent.  Warm  as 
the  day  had  been,  the  winter  nights  were  cold,  and  I 
expected  to  suffer  some,  sleeping  as  we  did  on  the 
sea-coast,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  high  wind.  Each  ot 
us  had  an  iron  "bedstead  and  mattress,  with  sheets  and 
"blankets ;  and  four  of  the  cots  just  made  the  circuit 
of  the  tent,  while  the  dinner-table — two  boards  laid 
across  the  portable  legs — occupied  the  centre;  and 
when  this  was  cleared  away,  we  had  room  for  two 
more  beds,  so  that  six  of  us  could  sleep  comfortably 
within  the  same  curtains.  The  servants  occupied 
another  tent  near  to  ours.  I  turned  in  before  mid- 
night, having  many  misgivings  that  the  novelty  of 
the  circumstances  would  drive  away  sleep.  The  wind 
blew  in  upon  me,  and  fearful  of  taking  cold,  I  put  up 
my  umbrella,  resting  the  handle  of  it  under  my  chin, 
and  thus  fell  quietly  into  the  arms  of  the  celebrated 
restorer  of  tired  nature.  How  long  I  slept  I  know 
not,  but  was  roused  by  terrific  yells,  as  if  an  army 
of  Indians  was  at  hand.  It  proved  to  be  more  of  the 
Nablous  people  on  their  way  north,  who  arrived  in 
the  night,  and  were  hastened  on  board  a  vessel  in  the 
harbor.  This  over,  and  it  lasted  an  hour  or  more,  I 
slept  again,  and  heard  no  more  till  morning. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  tent  was  struck  while  we 
were  at  the  breakfast-table,  and  we  finished  our  re- 
past in  the  chill  air.  The  natives  were  around  us  in 
great  numbers,  and  Antonio  kept  a  bright  look  out  on 


330  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Sore  eyes.  "Wonderful  fountains. 

tliem,  lest  they  should  make  off  with  some  of  the 
"plunder"  which  was  lying  about  while  the  morning 
exercises  of  packing  were  going  on.  Many  of  the 
children  had  sore  eyes.  After  our  attention  was 
turned  to  the  fact,  we  counted  sixty  who  were  thus 
diseased.  Outside  of  the  walls  we  stopped  at  a  fount- 
ain, where  the  women  of  the  city  were  drawing  water, 
and  carrying  it  away  in  pitchers  on  their  heads.  After 
they  had  given  water  to  our  cattle  in  primitive  style, 
we  were  ready  for  a  day's  ride,  and  following  the 
shore  of  the  bay,  we  rode  on  in  sight  of  the  noble  aque^ 
duct  by  which  the  city  was  formerly  supplied.  In 
the  course  of  an  hour  we  reached  Ras-el-Ain,  or 
Fountain-head.  Three  or  four  large  fountains  of  wa- 
ter, like  immense  living  reservoirs,  are  here  gushing 
up  near  to  the  sea-shore,  and  on  the  summit  of  a 
mound  raised  considerably  above  all  the  surrounding 
country.  One  of  these  lakes  is  a  hundred  feet  across, 
and  the  other  two  are  nearly  as  large.  They  are  the 
most  remarkable  fountains  in  the  world,  and  must 
be  supplied  by  a  subterranean  river,  that  finds  its  out- 
let here.  Carefully  guarded  by  solid  mason-work  em- 
bankments, the  water  is  carried  off  by  aqueducts  to 
irrigate  the  fields,  and  in  times  past  it  has  been  con- 
veyed to  the  city  of  Tyre.  This  old  aqueduct  is  now 
covered  with  vines,  and  the  lime  in  the  water,  where  it 
has  leaked  through  or  run  over,  has  formed  great  stal- 
actites, presenting  a  singular  combination  of  natural 
beauty  with  the  remains  of  ancient  art.  From  this 
spot  we  could  look  back  on  Tyre,  which  had  been 
supplied  from  these  ever-gushing  fountains,  and  think 


SYRIA    AND     PALESTINE.  331 

Sick  camels.  Scandarnru. 

of  the  wonderful  changes  that  have  taken  place  since 
she  was  the  mistress  of  commerce,  and  held  in  her 
hands  the  keys  of  the  world.  How  fallen !  Is  that 
Tyre,  where  Nebuchadnezzar  and  Alexander  the  Great, 
and  Greeks  and  Romans,  have  reveled  in  the  pride  of 
their  power  ?     So  passes  away  the  glory  of  man. 

The  Album  Promontorium — the  White  Promontory 
— jutting  into  the  sea,  a  precipitous  bluff,  is  to  Tbe 
crossed  by  steps  cut  out  of  the  white  rock,  and  -often 
very  near  to  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  which  is  guarded  by 
a  wall  to  keep  the  traveller  from  falling  into  the  deep. 
On  the  Scala — the  stairs  we  were  ascending — we 
found  two  sick  camels,  deserted  by  the  Nablous  tribe, 
and  left  here  to  die.  The  ruins  of  Scandarum  lie  in 
our  way  after  descending  this  ridge.  We  stopped  at 
a  fountain,  over  which  is  an  ancient  wall  and  arch, 
forming  part  of  an  aqueduct,  from  which  immense 
stalactites,  at  least  eight  feet  long,  were  depending. 
Ages  would  seem  to  be  required  to  form  them.  Other 
walls  and  broken  masses  are  scattered  thickly  about 
us,  marking  the  site  of  a  city  of  no  small  importance 
in  former  times.  So  complete  is  the  desolation,  so 
forsaken  of  man  and  apparently  of  God  does  the 
whole  region  appear,  it  requires  a  strong  act  of  faith 
to  believe  that  wealth  and  luxury  have  once  been  in 
all  their  pomp  and  pride  where  now  not  even  a  bat  or 
an  owl  resides. 

Off  on  the  hill  to  the  left  of  us  stands  a  single  col- 
lumn  crowned  with  a  capital — the  solitary  fragment 
of  some  temple  that  once  stood  on  that  commanding 
site.     The  village  of  Nakurah  is  the  next  that  we 


332  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

View  of  the  Holy  Land.  Bad  reports. 

pass ;  and  now  we  come  to  the  tomb  of  Helena,  and 
Antonio  amuses  us  with  the  echo  that  returns  from 
the  blank  walls  of  the  square,  brick,  tower-like  build- 
ing. We  ascend  the  heights  of  Nakurah,  and  our 
whole  party,  on  horseback,  form  side  by  side  in  a 
line,  while  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  has  often  been  over  this 
ground,  calls  our  attention  to  the  salient  points  of 
contemplation  in  the  wide-spread  prospect.  We  are 
looking  down  on  the  ancient  Megiddo,  and  over  a  long 
stretch  of  country  that  falls  off  into  the  plain  of  Es- 
draelon.  That  ridge  at  the  south,  toward  which  we 
are  now  journeying,  is  Mount  Carmel,  with  its  con- 
vent on  the  western  extremity,  near  the  sea.  That 
blue  dome  away  in  the  east  is  one  of  the  mountains 
beyond  Jordan,  and  here  are  the  hills  of  Galilee  and 
Samaria,  and  the  Holy  Land  is  before  us,  opening 
to  our  eyes  from  the  north  as  clearly  and  as  invit- 
ingly as  to  Moses  when  he  went  up  to  the  top  of 
Nebo.  We  did  not  know  at  that  moment  how  God 
was  saying  to  us  as  he  did  to  Moses,  "  Thou  shaft 
see  the  land  before  thee,  but  thou  shalt  not  go  thither." 
We  descended  into  the  plain  and  met  a  party  of 
Arabs,  with  camels,  on  their  way  to  Tyre.  They 
told  us  that  the  country  beyond  Acre  was  in  an  un- 
settled state,  the  Bedouins  having  come  over  the  Jor- 
dan and  spread  terror  among  the  villages.  They  ad- 
vised us  not  to  travel  into  the  interior,  but  to  keep 
along  the  coasts.  We  passed  Zib,  or  Aczib,  an  old 
town  by  the  sea,  a  few  palm-trees  and  miserable  hovels 
marking  the  site  of  an  ancient  city  of  renown,  and  one 
boundary  of  the  tribe  of  Asher.      Still  farther  on  we 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  333 

Gardens  of  the  Pasha.  Musing. 

found  more  of  the  evidence  of  civilization  than  we  had 
seen  to-day,  in  the  villa  and  gardens  which  Ibrahim 
Pasha  had  here  prepared  for  a  summer  retreat.  At 
great  cost,  to  irrigate  his  grounds,  he  had  caused  to 
he  reared  a  splendid  aqueduct  on  high  and  beautiful 
arches,  spanning  a  long  reach  of  country,  while  the  rows 
of  cypress  and  groves  of  orange  in  full  bearing,  luscious 
to  look  at,  and  loading  the  air  with  their  perfume,  com- 
pleted a  picture  that  was  refreshing  after  the  desolation 
that  we  had  been  travelling  over  during  the  day. 

Our  muleteers  had  gone  ahead  with  the  luggage, 
and  we  gave  them  orders  to  halt  a  couple  of  hours 
beyond,  and  be  ready  for  our  coming.  Acre,  famous 
in  ancient  and  modern  times  for  its  fortifications  and 
repeated  sieges,  was  our  destination  for  the  day ;  but 
it  was  doubtful  whether  we  could  reach  it  before  sun- 
set, when  the  gates  would  be  closed.  Antonio  and 
young  Thompson,  being  better  mounted  than  any  of 
us,  were  dispatched  to  make  all  haste  to  the  town  to 
learn  what  they  could  of  the  Consul  concerning  the 
state  of  the  country,  and  to  bring  us  word  to  our  en- 
campment, a  couple  of  miles  out  of  the  walls.  The 
rest  of  us  rode  leisurely  on  in  the  setting  sun,  speak- 
ing of  the  wonderful  fact  that  the  man  Christ  Jesus 
should  come  into  the  world,  and  make  this  little  coun- 
try in  the  East  the  scene  of  his  labors,  and  here,  in 
this  comparatively  obscure  and  unimportant  part  of 
the  world,  give  utterance  to  those  simple  yet  sublime 
truths  that  have  been  working  their  way  steadily  on- 
ward, ever  since,  over  the  whole  earth,  exalting  other 
lands  to  the  loftiest  pinnacle  of  human  prosperity  and 


334        EUEOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Lose  our  way.  Hovels  of  the  poor. 

glory,  while  this,  the  first  recipient  of  that  truth, 
has  become  as  the  basest  of  kingdoms.  The  bread 
of  the  children  has  been  given  to  the  dogs.  The 
children  have  perished,  and  the  Gentiles  are  blessed. 
The  sun  was  gone,  and  the  twilight  soon  disap- 
peared, and  the  darkness  was  around  us,  before  we 
knew  that  we  had  lost  sight  of  our  muleteers,  who 
should  have  pitched  the  tents  on  the  plain  we  are 
crossing.  We  pushed  on  rapidly  till  we  came  to  the 
road  that  turns  off  to  Acre,  and  were  then  sure  that 
we  had  lost  them.  We  were  too  late  to  get  into  the 
town,  and  without  shelter  for  the  night.  We  shouted 
at  the  top  of  our  voices,  and  Achmet  heard  us  not, 
and  no  response  from  Habib  came  to  our  relief.  In 
the  distance  we  could  hear  the  barking  of  dogs,  and 
thinking  they  would  be  near  some  human  habitations, 
we  put  off  for  them.  Following  the  sound,  we  were 
not  displeased  when  we  found  them,  though  the  dogs 
set  upon  us  furiously.  A  few  wretched  hovels  were 
there,  in  the  midst  of  some  olive-trees,  and  we  made 
up  to  the  only  light  we  could  see.  The  house  had 
but  one  small  room  in  it ;  and  there,  on  the  ground, 
was  the  family,  herding  with  their  donkeys,  and,  of 
course,  with  fleas  and  vermin  that  make  a  Christian 
man  sick  to  think  of.  We  had  been  in  the  saddle  for 
twelve  hours,  and  were  scarce  able  to  sit  much  longer, 
but  we  preferred  to  ride  twelve  more  to  encountering 
the  perils  of  such  a  shelter.  The  old  man  who  came 
to  the  door  at  our  call  could  give  us  no  account  of  the 
mules,  but  we  learned  from  him  that  we  were  not  far 
from   a  famous   khan  Abdullah   Pasha  had   erected. 


SYEIA    AND     PALESTINE.  335 

Place  of  joy.  Oriental  tavern. 

Our  men  had  probably  found  it,  and  turned  in  there 
for  the  night.  The  Mian  was  situated  at  a  place 
called  Behjeh,  which,  being  interpreted,  is  a  "place 
of  joy,"  and  such  it  proved  to  us,  for  in  fifteen  min- 
utes after  hearing  of  it,  we  galloped  over  the  plain, 
dashed  into  a  large  inclosure  and  through  an  open 
portal  into  a  court  a  hundred  feet  square,  in  the  midst 
of  which  was  a  noble  fountain,  and  by  its  side  our 
beautiful  tent  already  pitched,  and  the  dinner  over 
the  fire  in  front  of  the  door !  Habib  was  as  delighted 
to  see  us  as  if  we  had  been  delivered  from  the  dead. 
He  and  Achmet  had  been  despairing  of  our  safety,  for 
they  knew  we  must  have  passed  them,  but  how  we 
should  find  out  our  mistake  and  return,  they  could 
not  imagine. 

This  is  an  Oriental  tavern  we  are  in  now.  The 
hotel  business  is  not  conducted  in  this  country  on 
the  commercial  principles  of  the  West.  Some  rich 
man,  desiring  to  do  a  good  deed  to  his  fellow-men  and 
especially  to  the  stranger,  devotes  a  portion  of  his 
money  to  the  erection  of  such  a  building  as  this.  A 
row  of  apartments  one  story  high  surrounds  a  quad- 
rangle. They  are  divided  into  numerous  small  rooms, 
some  for  the  beasts  and  some  for  the  men,  but  they 
are  all  alike,  and  might  be  occupied  in  common  with- 
out doing  violence  to  the  prejudices  or  tastes  of  the 
people  or  the  cattle.  A  passing  caravan  may  turn  in 
and  spend  the  night  here,  making  use  of  the  shelter 
without  charge.  Indeed  there  is  no  one  to  "  keep  the 
house,"  unless  some  man  chooses  to  run  his  chance  of 
selling  food  for  the  men  or  beasts;  but  the  most  of 


336  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Too  many  cooks.  Visit  to  Acre. 

travellers  take  these  witli  them,  and  do  not  depend  on 
the  khan  for  supplies. 

We  were  desperately  hungry  as  well  as  tired  with 
this  extra  long  day's  ride,  and  I  took  hold  to  assist  in 
roasting  the  chickens  and  making  the  soup.  Proba- 
bly Achmet  thought  that  too  many  cooks  spoil  the 
broth,  for  he  evidently  did  not  appreciate  my  services, 
or  was  afraid  that  he  would  lose  part  of  the  glory,  if 
the  dinner  proved  to  be,  what  indeed  it  was,  a  great 
success.  As  soon  as  I  perceived  the  unpleasant 
emotions  my  interference  with  his  prerogatives  was 
awakening,  I  desisted  with  the  utmost  cheerfulness, 
and  patiently  waited  till  his  agony  was  over  and 
dinner  was  served.  It  was  eaten  with  such  an  appe- 
tite and  a  relish  as  no  tongue  that  has  not  tasted  can 
tell.  But  where  are  the  delegates  we  had  dispatched 
to  Acre  ?  Bedtime  came  early,  but  they  came  neither 
early  nor  late.  Our  snug  little  beds  invited  us  to  re- 
pose, and  nothing  loth  we  turned  in,  after  our  good 
friend  Calhoun  had  commended  us  to  the  care  of  a 
better  friend  on  high. 

Jan.  13.  With  the  early  morning  Mr.  Thompson 
and  Antonio  returned.  They  had  reached  the  city 
before  sundown,  but  the  gates  were  shut  ere  they 
had  completed  their  business,  so  that  they  could  not 
get  out.  The  Consul  had  entertained  them  hospit- 
ably, and  with  the  first  light  they  had  come  to  relieve 
our  anxieties.  Immediately  after  breakfast  we  mount- 
ed and  rode  over  the  plain  two  miles  to  the  city,  and 
by  the  mound  of  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion.  The  Consul, 
G.  Jemmal,  met  us.     He  rode  a  beautiful  Arab  mare 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  337 

Work  of  ruin.  Farming  in  Palestine. 

that  curveted  around  us  with  the  playfulness  of  a 
cat,  and  seemed  to  be  proud  of  displaying  her  limbs 
and  fleetness.  He  led  us  through  the  gate  and  by 
the  narrow,  dirty  streets  to  the  massive  fortifications 
on  the  land  side  and  the  sea.  Although  the  works 
have  been  repaired  since  the  British  bombardment  in 
1840,  we  can  see  on  all  sides  of  us  the  evidences  of 
the  cruel  ravages  of  war  in  the  shattered  walls  of 
houses  and  broken  towers.  The  modern  history  of 
Acre  is  familiar,  and  its  ancient  story  runs  back 
through  the  fortunes  of  Napoleon  and  to  the  Crusad- 
ers, and  then  away  into  the  wars  of  the  Canaanites, 
who  never  yielded  this  stronghold  to  the  tribe  of 
Asher,  within  whose  lot  it  fell. 

This  day's  journey  was  even  more  interesting  than 
any  that  had  preceded  it.  Our  ride  was  at  first  across 
the  plain,  with  Che  Carmel  ridge  on  our  right  and 
mountains  of  Galilee  in  front.  Often  would  we  start 
up  the  fleet  and  beautiful  gazelles,  who  bounded  away 
with  almost  the  swiftness  of  birds ;  and  we  had  no 
idea  of  making  fools  of  ourselves,  as  some  travellers 
have  done,  by  giving  them  chase.  Now  and  then  we 
passed  a  shepherd  with  a  flock  of  poor  sheep,  or  a 
plowman  with  his  team  of  two  oxen,  one  in  front  of 
the  other,  dragging  the  rude  plow  through  the  earth, 
the  surface  of  which  was  only  scratched  by  the  oper- 
ation. Our  path  led  us  over  a  hill  country,  that  was 
covered  with  a  low  growth  of  scrub  oak ;  and  An- 
tonio remembered  it  as  the  spot  where  he  was  seized, 
when  a  boy,  by  a  party  of  Bedouin  Arabs,  and  carried 
into  captivity,  from  which  he  fortunately  escaped  after 
Vol.   IL—P 


338  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Agriculture.  Cana  of  Galilee. 

two  or  three  years'  servitude.  I  afterward  had  reason 
to  know  that  he  had  great  apprehensions  of  falling 
again  into  their  hands.  Over  this  hill,  we  came  into 
another  and  a  fertile  plain,  where  the  peasant  people 
were  at  their  work  plowing  and  sowing.  But  in  the 
wretched  condition  'of  their  agricultural  implements, 
they  can  do  but  little  toward  deriving  what  they 
ought  from  the  land,  which,  under  proper  cultivation, 
might  "be  made  to  yield  a  support  for  a  vastly  greater 
population  than  now  possess  it.  We  passed  two  or 
three  villages  on  this  lovely  plain,  wretched  hovels, 
where  the  inhabitants  seemed  to  be  scarcely  above 
the  beasts  that  were  among  them ;  and  when  we  had 
rode  for  an  hour  or  more  beyond  any  human  habita- 
tion, we  met  two  men  and  a  woman  trudging  along 
by  the  side  of  two  loaded  donkeys.  We  asked  them, 
Where  is  Cana?  At  first  they  answered  promptly, 
they  did  not  know  of  any  such  place.  We  found,  as 
other  travellers  have  recorded,  that  these  people  are 
afraid  that  strangers  are  seeking  their  villages  with 
hostile  intentions,  and  they  try  to  deceive  them  when- 
ever they  ask  for  information.  I  doubt  if  they  were 
disposed  to  lead  us  astray,  for  we  soon  learned  from 
them  the  course  in  which  it  lay;  and  others,  whom 
we  met  shortly  afterward,  gave  us  the  directions,  and 
we  soon  came  out  upon  the  charming  plain  of  Safura. 
On  our  right  is  the  Dio  Ca?sarea  of  Josephus,  an  im- 
posing village,  crowning  the  summit  of  the  hill ;  and 
on  the  left,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  as  it  slopes 
gradually  to  the  plain,  is  Cana  of  Galilee — the  scene 
of  our  Lord's  first  miracle.     Just  across  the  range  of 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  339 

"Walks  of  the  Saviour.  Lovely  vale. 

hills  in  front  of  us  is  Nazareth ;  and  we  can  perceive 
how  naturally  the  Saviour  would  walk  over  in  two 
hours  to  this  village  to  attend  the  marriage  of  a  friend. 
Not  a  human  being  is  there  now.  The  scattered  rem- 
nants of  the  buildings  that  once  stood  here — perhaps 
the  same  stones  that  made  the  house  in  which  the 
water  was  made  wine — are  in  confused  heaps,  an  utter 
ruin.  We  asked  an  old  Arab  whom  we  met  what 
place  it  was,  and  he  answered  Ka-nah. 

In  full  view  of  this  interesting  sight,  but  on  the 
other  side  of  the  plain,  near  the  ruins  of  a  khan,  we 
spread  our  mats  to  lunch ;  for  here  was  a  well,  and 
we  had  rode  long  without  finding  water  for  our  beasts. 
This  is  called  the  "  Well  of  the  Bedouin  Woman." 
Here  we  observed  the  many-colored  soils  of  Palestine 
— red,  brown,  and  whitish,  side  by  side,  and  as  dis- 
tinctly marked  in  their  division  as  if  crops  of  various 
grains  were  growing  on  them.  As  we  lay  on  our 
mats  I  strove  to  imprint  the  scenery  of  this  lovely 
vale  upon  my  mind  for  a  pleasant  memory.  Its 
beauty,  at  first  view,  had  made  me  break  out  in  ex- 
clamations of  delight ;  and  the  truthfulness  of  Hebrew 
poetry,  in  which  this  scenery  of  the  Holy  Land  has 
been  celebrated,  was  exceedingly  impressive.  The 
range  of  hills  at  the  northeast  lie  between  us  and  the 
Sea  of  Tiberias.  Capernaum  was  just  over  there, 
where  the  mightiest  of  the  Saviour's  works  were  done. 
We  are  now  in  the  tribe  of  Zebulon,  and  at  the  head 
of  the  valley  is  Napthali.  We  mount  again  and  climb 
the  steep  hill  on  which  is  the  village  of  Safura,  and 
along  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  church,  through  wretched 


340        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Mary's  native  village.  Childhood  of  the  Saviour. 

streets,  sometimes  so  narrow  that  the  mules  with 
their  loads  on  their  backs  could  not  get  along,  and 
we  had  to  search  for  wider  paths  for  their  passage. 
The  inhabitants,  on  the  tops  of  the  low  hovels,  watch- 
ed us  suspiciously,  and  now  and  then  threw  stones  at 
us  after  we  had  gone  by.  We  were  not  sorry  to  get 
out  of  the  town,  that  has  no  other  claim  to  our  in- 
terest than  its  traditionary  reputation  of  being  the 
residence  of  the  mother  of  the  Virgin,  whose  concep- 
tion without  the  taint  of  sin  has  been  incorporated 
into  the  faith  of  the  Romish  Church.  Emerging 
from  the  village,  we  come  out  on  the  eastern  side  of 
it  into  a  valley  strewed  with  the  skeletons  of  dead 
animals — a  little  Jehoshaphat  that  we  hastened  to  get 
away  from,  the  stench  and  the  sight  being  equally 
disgusting.  An  hour  or  two  more,  and  we  were  on 
the  hills  that  surround  the  city  of  Nazareth.  We 
followed  a  winding,  but  pleasant  path,  over  which 
the  Lord  of  Glory  had  often  walked  in  the  season  of 
his  youth  as  well  as  in  later  years.  In  the  hollow, 
and  on  the  slope  of  the  hill  at  the  west — for  we  had 
come  around  the  town  before  we  could  look  down 
upon  it,  lay  the  city  of  Nazareth !  A  secluded  place ; 
the  vale  is  not  half  a  mile  across,  and  the  horizon  is 
completely  bounded  by  these  hills.  In  this  city  our 
Lord  spent  all  the  early  years  of  his  life — silent  and 
sad,  the  only  man  of  virtue  in  this  wicked  place. 
Often  has  he  stood — a  boy,  a  youth,  a  man — where 
I  now  stand,  and  looked  off  upon  that  great  plain 
and  those  sacred  mountains  that  rise  around  us. 
This  was  not  the  scene  of  his  glory,  but  of  his  secret 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  341 

Nazareth.  The  Hospice. 

preparation  for  his  glorious  work.  And  if  we  were 
affected  powerfully  by  treading  in  the  footprints  of 
Socrates  and  Plato,  how  much  more  when  we  knew 
that  a  greater  than  either  of  them,  even  the  Son  of 
God,  had  often  been  here. 

We  rode  down  the  hill  and  up  a  little  way  on  the 
other  side.  As  we  approached  the  city  we  passed  a 
fountain,  and  a  host  of  ragged  boys  and  girls  about  it, 
near  the  Greek  Catholic  church,  erected  on  the  spot 
where  it  is  said  the  angel  Gabriel  announced  to  the 
Virgin  Mary  that  she  should  bear  a  son.  A  dozen 
old  men  were  sitting  at  the  gate  of  the  town  as  we 
entered,  and  they  kindly  pointed  out  the  way  we 
should  take  to  find  the  lodgings  which  a  servant 
whom  we  had  sent  before  us  had  engaged.  We  pass- 
ed on  through  the  winding  streets  till  we  reached  the 
Latin  convent,  on  the  spot  where  Joseph  and  Mary 
lived.  Attached  to  it  is  a  Hospice,  or  hotel  for  pil- 
grims. We  entered  the  stone  doorway  into  a  paved 
court,  and  passed  up  stairs  to-  a  large  chamber,  fur- 
nished with  divans  across  both  ends  of  it,  and  a  table 
running  the  whole  length.  In  a  few  minutes  one  of 
the  monks  appeared,  welcomed  us  with  politeness,  and 
proceeded  at  once  to  arrange  rooms  for  our  accommo- 
dation, while  our  own  servants  set  about  preparation 
for  dinner.  A  notice,  posted  on  the  wall,  informed  us 
that  pilgrims,  on  their  way  to  the  Holy  City,  were 
allowed  to  stay  for  three  days,  without  charge,  in 
these  comfortable  quarters — paying  only  whatever  it 
might  please  them  to  give.  A  limit  to  the  time  al- 
lowed was  very  wisely  assigned ;  for  the  quietness  and 


342  III  1 0  P  E     A  N  D     T  1 1  E     E  A  S  T. 

Prophet's  chamber.  Arabs  listening. 

comfort  with  which  they  were  surrounded  might  tempt 
many  to  remain  longer  than  was  desirable  for  them- 
selves or  their  host.  In  the  evening  Mr.  Calhoun  and 
I  walked  out  to  find  the  missionaries  of  the  Church 
of  England,  who  are  laboring  in  Nazareth.  The  head 
of  the  mission,  an  English  clergyman,  was  absent,  but 
we  found  where  his  two  German  assistants  were  dwell- 
ing. We  ascended  a  flight  of  stairs  on  the  outside  of 
a  one-story  stone  building,  and  on  the  roof  was  a 
prophet's  chamber,  in  which  they  were  lodged.  How 
richly  primitive  was  this  !  They  were  not  at  home ; 
but  we  learned  that  they  were  meeting  some  of  the 
natives  for  religious  instruction  in  a  house  not  far  off. 
We  crawled  through  a  low  stone  doorway  into  a  court- 
yard, and  entered  a  small,  dirty,  smoky  apartment, 
where  eight  or  ten  filthy  Arabs  were  sitting  on  the 
floor,  with  their  teachers  in  the  midst  of  them.  A 
cup  of  oil,  having  a  wick  hanging  over  the  side,  was 
the  lamp  with  which  this  gloomy  room  was  partially 
lighted.  A  pan  of  coals  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
apartment ;  there  was  no  chair  or  table  of  any  sort  in 
the  house.  Yet  in  this  disagreeable  place  we  found 
these  devoted  men  engaged  in  giving  instructions  to 
these  inquiring  Arabs,  whose  whole  appearance  indi- 
cated exceeding  interest  in  the  subjects  to  which  their 
attention  was  turned.  When  these  good  Germans 
understood  who  we  were,  they  desired  Mr.  Calhoun 
to  address  the  natives  in  some  words  of  religious  in- 
struction, which  he  delivered  with  much  feeling,  and 
which  they  seemed  to  understand  and  appreciate. 
One  of  these  Germans,   Mr.   Hooper,   had  recently 


SYRIA     AND     PALESTINE.  343 

Poor  team.  Dangers  ahead. 

come  to  Palestine,  and  had  brought  out  with  him,  from 
England,  various  agricultural  implements,  and  among 
others  some  American  and  English  plows,  designing 
to  introduce  among  the  people,  as  soon  as  possible, 
some  improvements  in  agriculture,  and  in  other  useful 
arts.  He  told  me  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  find  a 
joke  of  oxen  strong  enough  to  draw  one  of  these  plows 
through  the  light  soil  of  that  country. 

With  many  strange  emotions  wTe  walked  by  moon- 
light through  the  narrow  streets  of  this  ancient  city, 
on  our  way  to  our  lodgings  passing  the  shop  that  is 
still  pointed  out  as  the  one  in  which  our  Lord  worked 
at  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  while  he  dwelt  in  Nazareth. 
When  we  returned  to  the  Hospice,  we  found  the  Con- 
sular Agent,  Saleh  Saely,  who  had  called  to  pay 
his  respects,  having  heard  of  our  arrival.  He  had 
also  received  intelligence  of  the  ravages  which  the 
Bedouins  were  making  among  the  villages  on  our 
way,  and  he  strenuously  resisted  the  idea  of  our  go- 
ing forward.  If  we  ventured  it,  however,  he  advised 
us  to  employ  a  guard  of  armed  men.  To  this  we  con- 
sented. He  agreed  to  find  those  whom  he  could  en- 
dorse as  reliable,  and  to  have  them  on  the  ground  in 
the  morning.  This  arrangement  completed,  we  re- 
tired to  our  bedchamber  in  the  convent.  It  was  well 
furnished  with  large  iron  bedsteads,  and  abundant 
clothing — better,  we  well  knew,  than  any  one  our 
Lord  slept  in  during  the  many  years  he  was  a  dweller 
in  Nazareth ;  and  better,  Mr.  Calhoun  assured  me, 
than  any  one  he  had  ever  slept  in  while  in  Syria. 

January  13.   We  rose  early  in  the  morning,  and 


344  E  UROPE     AND     T  J I  K     E  A  s  T. 

ilonks  iu  chapel.  The  convent. 

visited  the  chapel  of  the  Latin  convent,  to  which  is 
attached  the  Hospice  in  which  we  had  been  lodged. 
We  found  the  monks  and  the  people  engaged  at  their 
morning  devotions,  in  a  chapel  under  ground,  the  latter 
being  upon  the  spot  where  the  Romanists  insist  that 
the  Annunciation  was  made  by  Gabriel  to  the  Virgin 
Mary.  Thus  the  Greeks  at  one  end  of  the  town,  and 
the  Latins  at  the  other,  claim  tlteir  respective  places  as 
the  veritable  sites  of  this  event.  One  of  the  monks  led 
us  along  amidst  massive  stone  walls  and  through  cold 
halls,  showing  us  the  extensive  apartments  and  vari- 
ous relics  which  had  been  gathered  in  this  sacred 
place.  , 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 

LAND     OF     PALESTINE. 

Civil  War  breaks  out — Bedouins  from  beyond  Jordan — Guards  em- 
ployed— Leaving  Nazareth — Looking  on  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon 
— Scripture  History — Scenes  on  the  Plain — Party  of  Bedouins — 
Fulah — Jezreel  and  Shunem — Gilboa — Saul  and  Jonathan — A 
new  Guide — Invited — Cross  the  Kishon — Women  at  the  Fount- 
ain— Berkeen — Wretchedness  of  People — Sleeping  with  a  Horse 
— Quarrel  with  our  Host — Swearing  a  Debt — Villages — Plain  of 
Dothan — Joseph's  Pit — Samaria — Nablous. 

In  the  morning  we  held  a  council  of  war.  Further 
intelligence  had  been  received  of  the  disturbed  state 
of  the  country.  It  was  now  definitely  known  that  a 
civil  war  had  broken  out  in  Palestine :  two  families, 
long  hostile,  had  seized  the  present  as  a  favorable  mo- 
ment to  revive  an  ancient  feud,  and  to  fight  it  out 
when  the  government  has  higher  aims  than  the  set- 
tlement of  a  petty  quarrel  between  rival  chieftains  of 
barbarous  tribes.  They  had  called  upon  the  Bed- 
ouins over  the  Jordan  to  give  them  their  bloody  aid; 
and  these  men,  the  terror  of  the  mountain,  the  desert, 
and  the  plain,  were  haunting  the  roads,  plundering 
the  traveller,  burning  villages,  murdering  men  and 
women,  and  filling  the  land  with  confusion  and  dis- 
may. To  return  was  dangerous ;  but  we  were  as- 
sured we  might  pursue  our  journey  two  days  farther, 
to  Nablous,  without  much  apprehension,  as  the  Bed- 


346  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Another  start.  The  departure. 

ouins  were  chiefly  "beyond.  It  would  be  wise  to  take 
an  escort  of  two  or  three  armed  men,  whose  presence 
would  prevent  an  attack,  although  it  would  be  impos- 
sible to  resist  effectually  in  case  we  encountered  a  large 
body  of  the  robbers.  Yielding  to  this  counsel,  we  en- 
gaged two  men  who  had  often  acted  as  guards  for  trav- 
elling parties,  one  of  them  a  sheikh  of  decided  char- 
acter, who  agreed  to  conduct  us  safely  to  Jerusalem. 

It  was  a  fan,  bright,  winter  morning,  and  as  de- 
lightful weather  for  travelling  as  could  be  desired. 
With  varied  feelings,  yet  all  of  them  exciting  and 
intensely  interesting,  we  mounted  our  horses  in  front 
of  the  convent,  and  prepared  to  take  our  departure 
-from  Nazareth.  A  great  crowd  of  the  inhabitants  as- 
sembled, curious  to  see  a  party  of  strangers,  and 
many  of  them  begging  for  backshish,  the  universal 
cry  of  the  east.  The  monks  wished  us  a  good  jour- 
ney,  and  the  boys  cheered  us  as  we  set  off;  but  the 
Consul,  who  had  expressed  great  anxiety  for  our 
safety,  bade  us  adieu  with  much  reluctance,  and  fear, 
rather  than  hope,  was  expressed  in  his  face.  A  cara- 
van of  twenty  camels  was  coming  in,  as  we  rode  out, 
by  a  broad,  smooth  path  toward  the  plain.  At  a  gush- 
ing fountain  by  the  wayside,  we  gathered  the  whole 
party,  and  watered  our  cattle,  counting  up  our  num- 
bers, and  calculating  the  chances  of  making  a  successful 
journey.  Ascending  the  hills  that  surround  the  town, 
after  following  a  pass  for  some  distance  to  the  south, 
we  stood  upon  a  height  that  commanded  a  wide  and 
magnificent  view  of  the  great  battle-plain  of  Esdrae- 
lon.     This  precipice  has  been  called  the  Mount  of 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  347 

View  of  the  plain.  Battle-fields. 

Precipitation,  as  it'  it  were  the  height  from  which  the 
men  of  Nazareth  sought  to  hurl  the  Son  of  God.  But 
it  is  too  far  from  the  city,  and  we  place  no  faith  on 
the  tradition  that  identifies  it.  But  look  off  on  this 
glorious  prospect.  Mount  Carmel  stretches  to  the 
sea  on  our  right,  Mount  Tabor  rises  dome-like  on  our 
left,  Gilboa  and  the  lesser  Hermon  are  before  us ; 
and  such  a  throng  of  scriptural  and  sacred  associa- 
tions come  on  the  soul,  as  no  spot  of  earth  on  which 
I  had  ever  stood  could  awaken  and  gather.  This  plain 
is  famous  in  the  story  of  Elijah  and  Elisha;  of  Debo- 
rah and  Barak,  and  Sisera  fleeing  before  them  with 
his  chariots  of  iron ;  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  slain  on 
the  high  places  of  Israel,  in  sight  of  us ;  of  the  Shu- 
namite  mother  and  her  dead  boy  revived ;  of  Jezreel 
and  Jezebel ;  and  the  vineyard  of  Naboth ;  and  a  host 
of  persons  and  scenes  in  ancient,  and  even  in  modem 
history;  for  here  Napoleon  fought  a  pitched  battle 
with  the  Mamelukes.  We  can  see  the  village  of 
Endor,  whence  came  the  witch  to  meet  Saul;  and 
Nain,  where  the  Saviour  raised  from  his  bier  and 
gave  back  to  his  mother  the  dead  son  of  the  widow. 
A  hundred  passages  of  sacred  story  are  made  palpa- 
ble, as  we  observe  the  location  of  these  villages,  and 
the  mountains,  and  see  the  routes  by  which  the  old 
prophets  made  their  journeys,  and  the  walks  of  the 
Saviour  when  he  dwelt  among  men,  and  went  about 
doing  good.  We  descend  into  the  plain,  where  the 
people  are  plowing,  in  their  wretched  way,  the  light 
soil.  No  fences  divide  this  wide  level  into  farms ; 
and  we  can  not  discover  any  marks  by  which  one 


348        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Bedouins  about  JezreeL 

man's  portion  is  distinguished  from  another.  The 
path  is  straight,  and  leads  us  on,  horn-  after  hour, 
with  little  or  nothing  of  incident  to  diversify  the  day. 
A  fierce-looking  Koord,  well  mounted  and  armed, 
came  up  to  us,  and  offered  to  join  us,  as  an  additional 
guard,  for  a  small  consideration ;  and  we  enrolled 
him  in  the  corps.  He  soon  had  an  opportunity  of 
displaying  his  courage  with  the  rest  of  our  brave  sol- 
diers. About  noon  we  espied  in  the  east,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  mile,  a  party  of  eight  or  ten  Bedouins,  rid- 
ing in  single  file,  and  coming  toward  us.  They  rode 
up  to  a  mound  on  which  were  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
village  of  Fulah,  and  there,  at  a  respectful  distance, 
reconnoitred  us ;  but  our  spy-glass  gave  us  the  ad- 
vantage of  them  in  this  operation.  With  their  long 
spears  glittering  in  the  sun,  and  their  guns  swung 
over  their  shoulders,  they  were  formidable  in  appear- 
ance ;  but  our  party,  now  seventeen  in  number,  with 
more  than  twenty  horses  and  mules,  was  not  to  be  at- 
tacked without  danger,  and  they  did  not  come  near. 
The  guards,  Arab-like,  displayed  their  courage  and 
horsemanship  by  cutting  great  circles  around  us  on 
the  plain,  leveling  their  guns  at  us  while  at  full 
speed,  and  showing  off  to  the  hovering  enemy  what 
antagonists  they  might  expect  if  they  left  their  lurk- 
ing-place. 

At  our  left,  and  not  far  from  the  route  we  are  tak- 
ing, in  full  sight  is  Zerin,  the  ancient  Jezreel,  with  its 
square  tower,  from  which  our  friends  Drs.  Robinson 
and  Smith  surveyed  the  plain.  Here  Ahab  and  Jez- 
ebel had  a  summer  palace,  and  Naboth  had  his  vine- 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  349 

The  prophet.  Saul  and  Jonathan. 

yard  which  Ahab  coveted.  We  are  looking  on  the 
scene  of  Jezebel's  massacre,  and  mark  the  way  by 
which  Jehu  came  to  do  his  work  of  judgment.  A 
wide  vale  lies  between  Jezreel  and  the  site  of  Shunem, 
from  which  a  view  is  had  of  the  plain  away  to  Mount 
Carmel ;  and  we  observe  the  course  which  the  Shu- 
namite  mother  took  when  she  rode  thither  in  all  haste 
to  summon  the  prophet  Elisha,  on  the  death  of  her 
son.  What  a  simple  and  living  reality  is  imparted  to 
the  story  when  we  read  it  in  sight  of  the  mount  and 
the  village,  on  the  plain  where  the  reapers  were  at 
work,  where  the  boy  complained  of  pain  in  his  head — 
"My  head!  my  head!"  and  was  carried  home  to  his 
mother.  We  are  now  riding  along  the  foot  of  G  ilboa, 
and  must  be  near  the  fountain  where  Saul  and  Jona- 
than pitched  their  tents  on  the  eve  of  their  last  battle, 
while  David  was  hovering  around  them.  And  as  we 
looked  upward  to  the  hillside  where  the  king  of  Israel 
and  his  sons  were  slain,  we  read  the  words  of  lament- 
ation— "  The  beauty  of  Israel  is  slain  upon  the  high 
places :  how  are  the  mighty  fallen !  Tell  it  not  in 
Gath,  publish  it  not  in  the  streets  of  Ashkelon ;  lest 
the  daughters  of  the  Philistines  rejoice,  lest  the  daugh- 
ters of  the  uncircumcised  triumph.  Ye  mountains  of 
Gilboa,  let  there  be  no  dew,  neither  let  there  be  rain, 
upon  you,  nor  fields  of  offerings :  for  there  the  shield 
of  the  mighty  is  vilely  cast  away,  the  shield  of  Saul, 
as  though  he  had  not  been  anointed  with  oil."  "Saul 
and  Jonathan  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in  their  lives, 
and  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided :  they  were 
swifter  than  eagles,  they  were  stronger  than  lions." 


350  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

A  new  comer.  Crossing  the  Kishon. 

We  were  noAV  approaching  the  southern  side  of  the 
plain,  which  is  about  eighteen  miles  across,  and  were 
directing  our  course  to  the  village  of  Jenin,  where 
travellers  usually  find  quarters  for  the  night.  As  we 
approached  the  village  of  Mukeibeleh  the  people,  in 
rags  and  dirt,  a  sorry  looking  set  as  one  would  wish 
to  meet,  came  out  to  see  us.  A  wild  Arab  young 
man  on  horseback  came  dashing  by  the  village,  and 
reined  up  in  the  midst  of  our  muleteers.  He  had  a 
loose  aba  or  cloak  around  him,  confined  with  a  girdle, 
and  a  fez  on  his  head,  with  so  many  rags  in  his  clothes, 
and  such  a  crazy  look  in  his  eyes,  that  we  were  far 
from  thinking  him  a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  socie- 
ty. He  soon  learned  that  we  were  going  to  Jenin, 
and  immediately  invited  us  to  change  our  route  and 
go  with  him  to  Berkeen,  a  village  where  the  inhabit- 
ants, he  said,  are  Catholic  Christians,  and  his  father  is 
priest.  At  Jenin  they  are  all  Mohammedans,  and 
now,  excited  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  war,  it  would 
be  unsafe  for  us  to  lodge  there.  It  seemed  to  us  that 
we  should  be  quite  as  likely  to  be  taken  in  by  this 
story  as  by  the  people  of  Jenin,  but  as  the  course  he 
proposed  would  give  us  a  route  onward  rarely  trav- 
ersed, we  gave  heed  to  his  counsel,  and  kept  to  the 
westward  for  half  an  hour,  and  then  crossed  the  river 
Kishon.  This  ancient  river,  famous  in  the  history 
and  poetry  of  the  Scriptures,  which  fought  against 
Sisera  and  his  host  in  the  battle  of  Deborah  and  Barak, 
was  here  so  shallow  that  we  forded  it  without  any  diffi- 
culty. One  of  our  mules  played  us  a  trick  not  un- 
usual with  these  provoking  beasts,  and  actually  took 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  351 

A  lazy  mule.  Fountain  and  village. 

the  liberty  of  lying  down  in  the  middle  of  the  stream. 
It  happened  that  this  animal  was  loaded  with  our 
travelling  kitchen  and  hardware  furniture,  which  did 
not  suffer  from  the  wetting  as  other  baggage  would 
have  done.  It  was  no  small  trouble  to  get  him  up, 
and  out  of  the  water  in  which  heroes  had  perished  be- 
fore him.  This  celebrated  stream  has  its  source,  I 
was  told,  in  a  fountain  near  Jenin,  and  is  dry  during 
a  part  of  the  year,  so  much  of  the  water  is  led  off 
from  the  fountain  to  irrigate  the  plain.  No  sooner 
were  we  on  the  other  side  of  the  Kishon,  than  we 
were  led  by  our  new  guide  through  groves  of  olives, 
and  up  from  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  into  a  gorge  of  the 
mountain.  Following  a  stony  and  very  winding  way 
for  an  hour,  we  pushed  on,  overtaking  the  people  who 
were  returning  from  -their  day  of  labor  on  the  plain 
below.  We  came  to  a  fountain  far  down  in  a  vast 
excavated  limestone  rock.  The  women  were  gather- 
ing around  it  at  even-tide,  bringing  their  water-pitch- 
ers on  their  heads,  and  stepping  down  to  the  water, 
filled  them  and  carried  them  away  in  the  same  primi- 
tive fashion.  I  was  carried  back  to  New  Testament 
times,  as  these  Oriental  scenes  passed  before  me. 
On  the  top  of  the  hill  at  whose  base  was  this  fountain, 
was  a  miserable  village  of  perhaps  fifty  or  sixty 
houses.  Asaad,  our  Arab  guide,  had  rode  on  in  ad- 
vance to  prepare  for  our  coming,  and  the  ragged  vil- 
lagers were  out  in  full  costume  to  meet  us.  The 
children  were  perched  on  the  roofs  of  the  low  rude 
hovels,  a  picturesque  group  of  nearly  naked  boys  and 
girls,  not  half  covered  with  a  single  garment.     And  a 


352        EUEOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Daughters  of  Judea.  Sleeping  with  a  horse. 

woman  crept  up  out  of  a  door  not  three  feet  high,  and 
stood  before  us  with  only  a  single  garment  on  her,  and 
that  so  loosely  hung,  that  she  was  more  naked  than 
clothed.  Daughters  of  Judea,  have  ye  come  to  this  ? 
Asaad  had  secured  for  us  the  best  house  in  the 
village:  he  said  it  belonged  to  his  father.  It  was 
cleared  of  whatever  furniture  it  might  have  had,  and 
put  at  our  service.  It  stood  in  a  yard  that  was  used 
by  night  for  the  cattle,  and  was  in  a  more  filthy  con- 
dition than  would  be  the  yard  to  any  decent  man's 
barn  in  our  country.  The  house  had  but  one  room 
in  it,  about  twenty  feet  square.  The  half  of  it  was 
covered  with  a  floor  of  cement,  on  which  the  family 
dwelt,  while  the  other  half  was  appropriated  to  the 
use  of  cattle  when  they  were  housed.  It  was  the 
forlornest  place  that  I  had  ever  entered  to  lodge  in. 
On  the  cemented  part  of  the  floor  we  arranged  our 
six  narrow  beds,  just  covering  the  whole  space.  All 
the  horses  but  one  were  accommodated  in  the  yard. 
Mr.  Thompson's  pony,  being  uneasy,  insisted  upon 
occupying  with  us  the  only  room  we  had,  and  we 
yielded  to  the  importunities  of  the  beast  and  took 
him  in.  Being  established  for  the  night,  we  strolled 
among  these  people.  They  appeared  to  be  wretch- 
edly poor,  and  to  have  nothing  to  do.  The  children, 
by  scores,  were  at  play ;  the  boys  and  girls  in  separ- 
ate parties.  I  called  some  of  them  to  me.  The  girls 
were  partially  covered  with  dirty  garments ;  their  nails 
stained  of  a  dark  color,  and  their  arms  and  faces 
marked  with  a  kind  of  tattoo.  Some  had  bracelets  of 
brass,  and  beads  on  their  arms ;  and  their  heads  were 


LAND     OF     J'ALESTIN  E.  353 

Wretched  race.  Table  in  the  stable. 

surrounded  with  ornaments  of  tin,  or  brass  pieces,  put 
together  like  a  string  of  coins.  One  had  a  brass  but- 
ton sticking  to  the  side  of  her  nose.  They  laughed, 
and  giggled,  and  ran  off,  half  foolish  and  half  wild, 
with  a  vacant  expression,  like  simple  natives  of  a 
country  in  which  a  stranger,  for  the  first  time,  ap- 
peared. 

Into  the  yard  of  our  house,  at  evening,  came  the 
horses  and  cows,  and  goats  and  sheep,  to  be  fed.  A 
large  number  of  the  men  and  women  of  the  village 
assembled  there,  and  sitting  upon  the  ground,  looked 
on  while  preparations  were  making  for  our  dinner. 
Wretched,  degraded,  beggarly,  they  seemed  to  be. 
It  is  distressing  to  know  that  Palestine  is  so  far  down 
in  the  scale  of  humanity.  Not  one  in  a  hundred  of 
its  people  can  read  ;  and  the  women  are  scarcely  more 
decent  than  the  brutes  they  are  living  with.  Many 
of  the  men  are  not  so  decent  as  that.  The  vileness 
of  much  of  the  native  population  of  the  Holy  Land, 
at  the  present  hour,  is  such  as  may  not  be  described. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  this  village  was  as  miserable  a 
specimen  of  humanity  as  could  be  seen  out  of  the  in- 
terior of  Africa. 

Our  table  was  spread  just  in  the  rear  of  the  horse, 
and  it  was  covered  with  as  excellent  a  dinner  as  one 
could  wish  to  have  at  home  or  abroad.  The  evening 
we  spent  in  reading  over  the  stirring  pages  of  Sacred 
History,  recording  the  events  that  have  made  all  this 
region  so  memorable.  One  after  another  of  our  party 
dropped  asleep ;  and  I  sat  alone,  making  these  notes, 
and  marveling  that  at  last  I  was  to  sleep  in  a  stable 


354        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Storm  in  the  night  Waking, 

in  the  country  where  my  Lord  and  Master  was  horn 
in  a  stahle  and  cradled  in  a  manger.  Commending 
myself  to  His  care,  who,  now  that  he  has  a  throne 
and  a  crown,  is  not  unmindful  of  his  native  land,  and 
of  those  who  love  him,  I  slept  too. 

A  clap  of  thunder  waked  me.  A  sudden  storm 
had  burst  upon  us.  The  rain  was  pouring  in  torrents. 
A  stream  of  water  was  running  across  the  ground- 
floor,  bringing  in  the  filth  of  the  yard,  and  passing 
out  at  the  other  side.  A  cup  of  oil,  fastened  against 
the  wall,  had  a  lighted  rag  hanging  over  the  side,  and 
this  was  shedding  a  murky  light  on  the  scene,  which 
I  sat  up  in  my  little  bed  to  survey.  The  horse  was 
eating  out  of  his  manger,  and,  now  and  then,  neigh- 
ing for  his  absent  companions.  Antonio,  the  drago- 
man, was  lying  in  another  manger,  covered  with  a 
blanket,  and  snoring  a  chorus  to  the  horse's  call. 
Happy  fellows  were  my  five  friends  around  me,  sound 
asleep,  undisturbed  by  the  war  of  elements  outside, 
or  the  hoarse  music  within.  I  strove  to  imitate  their 
good  example;  but  the  surroundings  were  unfavor- 
able, and  it  was  not  an  easy  matter  for  me  to  forget 
myself  into  their  condition.  The  odor  of  a  stable  is 
not  pleasant  for  a  bedchamber.  The  otto  of  roses  is 
sweeter.  But  I  had  worse  places  to  sleep  in  after- 
ward. 

In  the  morning,  reports  w^ere  brought  to  us  that 
the  whole  country  around  was  beset  by  the  Bedouins, 
and  that  we  would  probably  encounter  them  if  we 
undertook  to  press  on.  It  was  said  that  the  shieklis 
of  the  various  tribes  were  holding  a  council,  with  a 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  355 

Sudden  arrest.  Swearing  a  debt. 

view  to  settle  the  disturbances,  and  that  in  the  course 
of  a  few  days  peace  would  probably  be  restored.  On 
the  whole  we  determined  to  make  our  way,  if  pos- 
sible, to  Nablous.  We  got  off  at  nine  o'clock,  and 
had  rode  but  a  few  minutes  beyond  the  village,  when 
Asaad,  our  host,  came  rushing  after  us  on  horseback, 
without  saddle  or  bridle,  having  mounted  in  hot  haste. 
Riding  up  to  us  in  high  excitement,  he  declared  that 
Antonio  had  come  off  without  paying  for  the  lodgings 
of  the  party,  and  that  unless  the  matter  was  settled 
at  once  he  would  rouse  the  people  and  take  satis- 
faction for  the  wrong  that  had  been  done  him.  Here 
was  a  pretty  quarrel  on  hand.  Antonio  was  called 
on  for  his  statement,  when  he  protested  that  he  had 
paid  the  full  reckoning,  and  that  this  was  only  an  at- 
tempt to  extort  more  money  from  him.  Asaad  raved, 
stormed,  swore,  and  tore  his  hair  like  a  maniac,  when 
he  found  that  Antonio  denied  the  charge,  and  refused 
to  give  him  any  further  compensation.  As  the  two 
men  offered  their  word  against  each  other,  there  seem- 
ed, at  first  view,  no  mode  of  settlement.  But  Ish- 
mael,  one  of  our  guards,  directed  Asaad  to  take  off 
his  fez,  and  laying  his  hand  on  the  top  of  Asaad's 
head,  directed  him  to  swear,  by  the  holy  New  Testa- 
ment and  the  forgiving  God,  that  he  had  not  received 
a  piastre  from  Antonio.  One  of  our  servants — a  Druse 
— demanded  that  he  should  also  swear  by  his  eyes. 
Asaad,  professing  to  be  a  Christian,  swore  both  the 
oaths  without  hesitation ;  and  it  was  then  agreed,  on 
all  hands,  that  he  was  entitled  to  his  money,  which 
we  required  Antonio  to  pay.      Whether  it  was  the 


356  EUItOTE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Joseph's  pit.  Caravan  route. 

first  or  second  time  lie  had  paid  it,  we  had  no  means 
of  knowing. 

A  village  we  left  on  our  right  hand,  called  Kefr- 
Kund,  and  shortly  after  readied  the  plain  of  Dotlian, 
where  Joseph  was  let  down  into  the  pit  by  his  breth- 
ren and  afterward  sold  into  Egypt.  Did  we  find  the 
pit  ?  We  found  one,  dug  out  of  the  solid  rock,  as  if 
for  a  cistern.  It  was  evidently  very  ancient.  No 
water  is  in  it  now ;  and,  for  aught  I  know,  it  may 
have  been  there  from  the  time  that  Joseph  was  let 
down  into  it — or  one  just  like  it — in  this  same  neigh- 
borhood. Some  travellers  would  identify  it  beyond  a 
doubt. 

A  round  old  stone  house,  on  the  top  of  a  hill  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  ruins  of  a  village,  attracted  our 
attention.  Inquiring  of  a  few  naked  men,  who  were 
plowing,  we  were  told  it  was  Dothan.  The  remains 
of  an  aqueduct  were  standing  at  the  foot  of  the  hill. 
The  village  of  Erahbeh  was  off  on  the  summit  of  an- 
other hill  at  our  right;  and,  by  a  beautiful  opening 
between  the  hills  in  front  of  us,  a  great  road  leads 
toward  the  plain  of  Sharon.  This  is  the  route  for 
the  caravans  in  going  to  and  coming  from  Egypt, 
and  is  the  way  by  which  Joseph  was  carried  off  into 
that  country,  after  he  was  sold  by  his  brethren  to  the 
merchants  of  Midian.  Our  way  was  gradually  up- 
hill, till  we  came  to  the  large  village  of  Ajjeh,  where 
was  a  tower,  evidently  more  ancient  and  indicating 
a  higher  civilization  than  the  rude  houses  below 
and  around.  The  people  seemed  alarmed  at  the  ad- 
vent of  such  a  company  as  ours,  and  fled  as  wc  ap- 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  357 

Landmarks.  Hill  of  Samaria. 

proached.  This  place  commands  a  view  of  a  lovely 
valley,  more  highly  tilled  than  any  that  we  had  yet 
seen,  in  the  very  heart  of  Samaria.  It  is  covered 
with  fields  of  grain  all  the  way  up  to  the  crown  of 
the  hill.  Instead  of  fences,  large  stones  are  laid,  at 
short  intervals,  in  lines  across  the  field,  marking  the 
division  of  the  ground  belonging  to  different  persons ; 
and  we  were  struck  with  the  propriety  of  the  early 
laws  against  removing  landmarks — "  Cursed  be  he 
who  removeth  his  neighbor's  landmark."  On  an  ad- 
jacent hill,  and  higher  up,  is  the  village  of  Fahmeh ; 
at  the  foot  of  it,  another  hard  by  is  Im  Fahmeh ;  and 
across  the  plain  is  one  still  larger  than  either  of  the 
others,  called  Gebaah.  This  had  been  plundered  by 
the  Bedouins  a  few  days  before  we  passed ;  many  of 
the  houses  were  destroyed,  and  some  of  the  inhabit- 
ants murdered.  In  one  of  the  villages,  not  very  far 
from  our  route,  no  less  than  a  hundred  lives  had  been 
destroyed  within  a  very  few  days  before  we  came  by. 
The  village  of  Sileh  is  situated  on  the  verge  of  a  large 
and  beautiful  valley,  abounding  in  groves  of  olive, 
and  more  picturesque  in  its  landscape  than  any  scen- 
ery which  we  had  passed  to-day. 

Half  an  hour  beyond  it,  we  came  to  the  hill  of  Sa- 
maria. Terraced  as  it  formerly  was  to  the  summit, 
and  crowned  with  the  magnificent  palaces  of  Herod, 
this  city  must  have  been,  in  the  days  of  its  glory,  one 
of  the  most  magnificent  in  the  Eastern  world.  We 
rode  up  by  a  very  steep  path,  and  examined  the  ruins 
of  the  ancient  palaces,  of  which  the  columns  are  still 
standing,  and  rise  from  the  soil  as  if  they  had  been 


358  EUEOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

John  the  Baptist.  Splendid  columns. 

but  recently  planted  in  the  earth.  The  ruins  of  the 
Church  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  stand  upon  the  brow 
of  the  hill  below  the  village.  Tradition  attributes  this 
church  to  Helena,  but  it  is  more  likely  to  have  been 
built  in  the  time  of  the  Crusaders.  The  sepulchre  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist  is  said  to  be  here,  and  hence  has 
arisen  the  story  that  this  was  the  place  of  his  execu- 
tion. We  learn,  however,  from  Josephus  that  John 
was  beheaded  on  the  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Near  the 
summit  of  the  hill  we  found  a  number  of  marble  col- 
umns— some  fifteen  or  twenty — still  standing  erect, 
and  others  lying  upon  the  ground.  On  the  westerly 
side  is  the  famous  colonnade  which  once  surrounded 
this  side  of  the  hill,  and  may  have  been  the  approach 
to  some  magnificent  temple  or  palace.  At  least  sixty 
of  these  columns  still  stand  near  each  other,  while 
others  are  scattered  at  intervals  around.  Fragments 
of  many  are  also  to  be  seen  on  other  parts  of  the  hill. 
This  splendid  colonnade  must  have  been  more  than 
two  thousand  feet  long.  The  dogs  barked  furiously 
at  us  from  the  tops  of  the  houses  as  we  rode  through 
the  streets ;  but  their  incivility  was  even  less  than 
that  of  the  people,  who  treated  us  rudely,  and  threw 
stones  at  us  as  we  passed.  They  were  a  wretched 
set  of  people ;  the  women  filthy  and  ill-clad,  witli 
their  naked  and  dirty  breasts  exposed  without  a  sense 
of  shame  to  the  eye  of  the  stranger.  And  this  is  Sa- 
maria— once  the  proud  city  of  the  proud  Herod — the 
scene  of  unparalleled  splendor,  revelry,  and  volup- 
tuous sin !  On  those  plains  below  us  lay  the  Syrian 
army  besieging  the  city,  when  they  were  startled  by 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  359 

The  Bedouins.  Shechem. 

the  voices  from  heaven  and  fled  in  wild  disorder,  leav- 
ing their  stores  of  provision  to  be  the  prey  of  the 
starving  people. 

Coming  clown  from  the  hill,  we  pursued  our  journey 
over  a  rough  and  intractable  path,  which  we  were 
obliged  to  take  to  avoid  two  parties  of  Bedouins  fight- 
ing each  other  behind  the  range  of  hills  we  had  to 
cross.  But  we  groped  our  way  along  as  well  as  we 
could,  and  toward  night  made  our  entry  into  the  walls 
of  Nablous,  the  ancient  Shechem  or  Sychar.  It  is 
a  strong  city,  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  houses  are  chiefly  of  stone,  many  of  them  lofty, 
and  the  streets  narrow,  and  the  whole  town  surround- 
ed by  a  wall,  so  that  it  might  be  defended  against  a 
considerable  force.  The  people  have  a  bad  reputa- 
tion even  in  this  country  of  bad  people.  The  Nablous 
"robbers"  was  a  term  that  seemed  to  be  applied  to 
the  inhabitants  generally.  But  we  were  favorably 
impressed  with  the  men  who  sat  in  the  doors  of 
their  shops  as  we  passed,  and  gave  us  respectful  salu- 
tations. The  city  is  long  and  narrow,  and  we  rode 
nearly  the  whole  length  of  it  before  we  came  to  the 
house  of  Auded  Assam,  a  Protestant  Christian  to 
whom  we  had  been  directed. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

LAND     OF     PALESTINE. 

Our  Quarters  in  Nablous — The  House-top — Scripture  Illustrations — 
Place  of  Retirement  or  of  Proclamation — Solomon's  Idea — Man- 
ners and  Customs  without  Change — Rumors  of  Wars — Hostility 
to  Christians — Ebal  and  Gerizim — Blessing  and  Cursing — History 
of  the  City — Jacob's  Arrival — Congress  of  Israel — Sabbath  Ser- 
vices— Samaritans  —  Synagogue — Ancient  Manuscripts  —  Ascend  ' 
Mount  Gerizim — Place  of  Burnt  Sacrifice — Holy  Ground — View 
of  Salem  and  Region  round  about — Descent — Women  at  Dinner 
— Eastern  Salutation — The  Guards  back  out — Muleteers  mutiny. 

By  the  time  we  reached  the  house  of  Assam,  a 
crowd  of  the  natives  had  gathered  about  us,  with  offers 
of  their  assistance,  and  we  had  no  little  trouble  in 
chiving  them  off,  so  fierce  were  their  efforts  to  strip 
the  mules  and  carry  the  luggage  into  the  house.  Up 
narrow,  dark,  and  winding  flights  of  stone  stairs,  we 
were  led  to  a  large  chamber  which  opened  upon  the 
roof  of  the  house ;  and  yet  this  was  not  the  top,  for 
another  short  flight  of  steps  conducted  to  still  another 
room.  As  this  building  was  on  the  highest  ground  in 
the  city,  our  quarters  commanded  a  view  of  the  town 
and  the  surrounding  country ;  and  whichever  way  we 
looked,  we  saw  places  that  were  associated  with  the 
most  interesting  events  in  sacred  history.  Even  be- 
fore we  had  become  settled  in  our  lodgings,  we  were 
studying  the  geography  of  the  land  in  which  we  were 
now  strangers  and  pilgrims. 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  361 

House-tops.  Explanations. 

Our  promenade  is  on  the  roof.  But  our  host  im- 
mediately prefers  a  request  that  we  will  be  as  circum- 
spect as  possible  in  our  observations,  for  we  overlook 
the  houses  of  his  neighbors,  and  they  are  chiefly  Mos- 
lems, who  resent  the  eyes  of  men  when  directed  into 
the  dwellings  of  their  women.  A  parapet  about  three 
feet  high  surrounds  the  edge  of  our  roof,  and  this  is 
pierced  with  small  holes,  through  which  one  can  see 
without  being  seen.  Instantly  I  was  struck  with  the 
force  of  two  or  three  apparently  conflicting  allusions 
to  the  house-top  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures.  In  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  chapter  x.  9,  we  are  told  that 
"  Peter  went  up  upon  the  house-top  to  pray" — which 
implies  that  it  was  a  place  of  retirement — and  so  it 
may  readily  be,  for  the  access  to  it  from  below  may 
be  easily  closed,  and  the  wall  that  surrounds  it  would 
exclude  a  person  kneeling  or  lying  from  the  view  of 
the  neighbors.  Again,  in  the  gospels  it  is  said,  that 
what  is  spoken  in  secret  shall  be  proclaimed  upon  the 
house-tops ;  as  if  the  greatest  publicity  would  be 
thereby  given  to  the  proclamation.  And  such  would 
be  the  fact,  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages seek  the  tops  of  the  houses  for  air  and  recreation 
more  than  the  streets ;  neighbors  converse  from  one 
roof  to  another,  and  a  cry  upon  the  house-top  would 
be  heard  over  a  for  larger  part  of  the  town  than  if 
made  in  the  highways.  Solomon  says  in  Proverbs, 
xxi.  9,  "It  is  better  to  dwell  in  a  corner  of  the  house- 
top, than  with  a  brawling  woman  in  a  wide  house ;'' 
and  as  if  he  felt  the  force  of  the  illustration,  or  the 
peculiar  distress  of  a  man  afflicted  with  such  a  compan- 
Vol.  IT.— Q 


362  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Dwelling  on  the  roof  Brawling  woman. 

ion,  lie  repeats  the  observation,  in  the  same  words,  a 
few  pages  farther  on  in  his  book — chapter  xxv.  24. 
In  some  seasons  of  the  year,  and  indeed  in  any  season, 
a  man  may  make  himself  comfortable  on  the  flat  roof 
of  the  house,  surrounded  with  a  wall,  and  especially 
in  the  "  corner"  to  which  the  king  specially  refers ; 
for  here  he  could  readily  protect  himself  from  the 
storms,  and  in  fair  weather  it  would  be  a  very  pleas- 
ant abode.  But  no  man  can  make  himself  comfort- 
able, or  hide  himself  from  the  storms,  however  "  wide" 
may  be  the  house  which  he  has  to  share  with  a  brawl- 
ing woman.  A  very  sensible  remark  that  was  of 
Solomon.  Many  of  the  houses  in  the  smaller  villages 
are  covered  with  earth  and  sown  with  grass,  which, 
however,  in  time  of  drought,  would  speedily  wither; 
and  this  explains  the  allusion  in  three  portions  of 
Scripture  to  the  herbs  or  grass  on  the  house-top. 
"  Let  the  wicked,"  says  the  Psalmist  (exxix.  6),  "be  as 
the  grass  upon  the  house-tops,  which  withereth  afore 
it  groweth  up :  wherewith  the  mower  filleth  not  his 
hand;  nor  he  that  bindeth  sheaves  his  bosom."  Still 
other  roofs  are  made  by  laying  branches  and  then 
leaves  over  them,  or  straw,  with  more  or  less  earth; 
and  these  could  be  easily  removed,  as  in  the  time  of 
our  Saviour  the  friends  of  the  paralytic  man  broke  up 
the  roof,  and  let  him  down  to  the  spot  where  Jesus 
stood.  From  age  to  age  the  inhabitants  of  these 
Eastern  countries  go  on  building  their  houses  as  their 
fathers  built  them ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
mosques  and  monasteries,  the  same  style  of  hoi 
prevails  now  that  was  seen  in  these  lands  two  and  three 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  363 


Lying  by. 


thousand  years  ago.  The  same  remark  applies  to  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  people,  which  undergo  no 
change.  This  renders  every  day  of  residence  in  the 
East  an  instructive  commentary  on  the  Bible,  its 
fidelity  and  "beauty  "being  brought  out  in  delightful 
relief  by  every  thing  that  meets  the  eye. 

In  this  upper  chamber,  on  the  roof  of  the  house, 
our  beds  were  spread,  and  Antonio  proceeded  to  make 
us  comfortable  for  a  day  or  two.  To-morrow  was  to 
be  the  Sabbath,  and  we  were  to  lie  still,  though  it 
was  very  much  against  the  wishes  of  the  dragoman 
that  there  should  be  any  interruption  in  the  journey 
on  that  account.  He  paid  for  his  mules  and  horses 
by  the  day,  and  as  it  cost  him  as  much  to  rest  as  to 
ride,  he  preferred  to  keep  moving.  But  he  was  soon 
reconciled  to  the  idea  of  lying  by ;  for  we  had  not 
reached  our  chamber  before  we  began  to  hear  of  the 
ravages  of  the  Bedouins  from  over  the  Jordan,  who 
were  infesting  the  country,  and  filling  it  with  alarm. 
The  whole  country  around  us  was  in  their  possession. 
They  had,  for  a  week  or  two  past,  been  plundering 
the  villages,  and  robbing  travellers ;  murdering  men, 
women,  and  children,  and  cutting  off  all  communica- 
tion between  Nablous  and  Jerusalem.  The  war  had 
just  broken  out  between  the  Turks  and  Russians  ;* 
and  it  was  regarded  by  all  the  Moslems  here  as  a  re- 
vival of  the  old  Avar  between  the  Crescent  and  the 
Cross.  They  knew  nothing  of  any  distinction  be- 
tween the  Christian  allies  and  the  Christian  enemies 
of  the  Turkish  government ;  but  looked  upon  every 
Frank  or  Christian,  every  man  in  European  dress,  as 


364        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Refreshed.  Sacred  mountains. 

a  foe,  whose  destruction  was  a  very  agreeable  duty. 
This  was  the  state  of  feeling  at  this  moment,  as  we 
found  at  Nablous.  Our  host,  a  conscientious,  good 
man,  was  very  uneasy  about  our  safety,  even  in  his 
house ;  and  he  would  have  been  very  glad  to  see  us 
safely  in  some  better  place.  But  as  we  were  thrown 
upon  his  care,  he  would  be  faithful  to  the  traditional 
laws  of  hospitality,  and  in  spite  of  the  repeated  inti- 
mations we  had  of  the  unfriendly  feelings  of  the  Mo- 
hammedans around  us,  he  resolved  to  protect  us  to 
the  extent  of  his  power.  Under  his  roof,  and  in  the 
hands  of  a  kind  Providence,  thankful  for  the  preserv- 
ing care  we  had  so  far  experienced,  we  lay  down  and 
slept,  and  awoke,  refreshed  and  strengthened,  on  the 
morning  of  the  Sabbath. 

It  was  a  glorious  day  among  the  hills  of  Judea. 
The  morning  sun  was  gilding  the  dome-like  summits 
of  Ebal  and  Gerizim — the  mountains  of  blessing  and 
cursing.  The  valley  between  them,  at  the  upper  end 
of  which  is  the  city,  is  not  more  than  five  hundred 
yards  across.  How  vividly  did  the  scenes  of  Old 
Testament  story  come  up  before  the  mind  as  we 
stood  on  the  top  of  the  house,  in  full  view  of  these 
sacred  hills.  Ebal  is  on  our  left  hand,  and  Gerizim 
on  our  right.  On  Ebal  the  altar  of  the  Lord  was 
reared ;  great  stones  covered  with  plaster ;  and  on  it 
"all  the  words  of  the  law  were  written."  No  iron 
tool  was  to  be  lifted  up  in  erecting  this  altar ;  but 
whole  stones,  and  large,  were  to  be  used.  There  are 
enough  scattered  over  it  now  to  build  a  temple.  Here, 
upon  these  two  hills,  the  bases  of  which  come  almost 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  365 

Blessing  and  cursing.  Sacred  history. 

to  touch  each  other,  the  tribes  were  gathered;  six 
standing  on  Ebal,  and  six  on  Gerizim ;  while  the 
Levites  read  the  curses  from  Ebal,  and  the  blessings 
from  Gerizim,  and  the  multitudes  of  the  people  re- 
sponded to  each  of  the  words  with  a  loud  Amen ! 
kt  Cursed  be  the  man  that  maketh  any  graven  or 
molten  image,  an  abomination  unto  the  Lord,  and  all 
the  people  shall  say,  Amen."  Some  have  thought 
that  Ebal  has  been  cursed  with  perpetual  sterility, 
while  Gerizim  has  been  more  fertile.  Such  appeared 
to  us  to  be  the  present  aspect  of  the  mountains.  They 
are  less  than  a  thousand  feet  high;  and  while  Ebal  is 
covered  with  rocks  and  loose  stones,  forbidding  culti- 
vation, the  other  hill  was  tilled  to  its  summit. 

This  ancient  city  has  figured  in  history  from  the 
time  when  Jacob  came  from  Padan-aram,  and  pitched 
his  tent  before  Shalem.  It  became  the  capital  of  the 
kingdom  set  up  by  Abimelech  in  the  time  of  the 
Judges,  and  the  men  of  Shechem  dealt  treacherously 
with  him,  as  they  have  done  with  many  others  since 
his  day.  They  set  men  to  lie  in  wait  on  these  hills, 
to  rob  all  that  came  along  that  way,  and  this  narrow 
pass  would  afford  them  a  fair  chance  to  stop  and 
plunder  the  traveller.  It  was  here  that  the  congress 
of  the  tribes  assembled  in  the  time  of  Rehoboam,  and 
the  new  monarch  of  the  revolted  tribes  made  it  the 
capital  of  his  kingdom,  but  afterward  yielded  to  Sa- 
maria, though  it  was  for  many  ages  the  chief  city  of 
the  Samaritans,  their  temple  and  their  worship  being 
confined  to  this  holy  hill,  Gerizim,  whose  sides  we 
will  soon  ascend. 


366        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Arab  service.  Samaritans. 

]\lr.  Assam,  our  host,  brought  a  request  to  our  mis- 
sionary companion,  Mr.  Calhoun,  to  hold  a  religious 
service  in  his  house  this  morning.  He  complied  with 
much  cheerfulness ;  and  about  forty  men  assembled 
and  listened  with  close  attention  while  Mr.  Calhoun 
expounded  the  Scriptures  to  them  in  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage. They  sat  on  the  floor,  in  the  Eastern  man- 
ner, and  the  women  occupied  an  apartment  separated 
by  a  curtain  from  the  one  we  were  in,  so  that  they 
could  hear  without  being  seen.  Though  we  could 
not  understand  a  word  that  was  said,  it  was  a  matter 
of  some  interest  to  watch  the  effect  of  the  earnest 
words  of  the  speaker  upon  these  people  of  a  strange 
tongue.  I  knew  the  power  of  the  preacher  in  his 
own  language ;  and  he  has  now  been  so  long  accus- 
tomed to  speaking  the  Arabic,  that  he  is  probably 
more  at  home  in  it  than  in  his  own.  His  words  told 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  assembly,  and  the  tears  they 
shed  were  silent  but  impressive  tokens  of  their  strong 
emotion. 

A  remnant  of  the  ancient  Samaritans  still  lingers 
in  Nablous.  After  our  morning  service,  we  walked 
out  and  found  their  synagogue,  a  low  building,  which 
we  reached  by  passing  underneath  the  basement  of 
one  or  two  houses,  and  up  a  narrow  lane,  till  we  came 
to  a  platform,  where  the  priest  was  smoking  with  sev- 
eral of  his  friends  around  him.  At  our  request,  he 
came  down  and  led  us  through  the  court — in  which  a 
large  apricot-tree  was  standing,  loaded  with  fruit — 
and  unlocking  the  door  of  the  synagogue,  he  requested 
us  to  take  off  our  shoes,  which  we  did ;  and  in  onr 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  367 

Synagogue.  Old  manuscript. 

stockings  we  walked  in.  The  room  was  low  and 
arched,  with  heavy,  gloomy  walls.  A  few  lamps 
were  suspended  across  it,  and  book-shelves,  on  which 
were  scattered  copies  of  parchment.  At  one  side  of 
the  room  was  a  platform  with  a  single  step,  and  be- 
hind a  curtain,  in  a  recess,  were  kept  the  sacred  re- 
cords. 

The  old  priest  asked  us  various  questions  about 
Paris,  and  London,  and  America ;  and  whether  there 
were  any  Samaritans  in  our  country,  or  in  any  of  the 
countries  through  which  we  had  passed.  He  mani- 
fested but  very  little  interest  when  we  told  him  that 
we  knew  of  none.  He  spoke  of  the  Jews — whom 
they  hate  as  of  old — and  said  that  the  Messiah  was 
not  to  come  of  Judah,  but  of  Joseph  ;  and  denied  the 
correctness  of  the  interpretations  which  have  been 
given  by  modern  commentators  on  the  ancient  rec- 
ords. He  then  inquired  of  us  if  we  would  give  him 
a  present  for  showing  us  the  old  manuscript  which 
they  claim  to  be  3460  years  old.  We  assented  to 
his  terms,  and  he  stepped  behind  the  curtain  and  pro- 
duced it.  It  was  on  wire  rollers,  and  had  an  orna- 
mented head-piece  to  the  box  which  inclosed  it.  The 
whole  was  covered  with  a  rich  silk  embroidery,  and 
kept  with  great  care.  As  it  was  brought  out,  a  few 
Samaritans,  who  had  come  in  with  us,,  laid  their 
hands  reverentially  on  their  breasts,  as  if  deeply  af- 
fected with  veneration  for  the  ancient  manuscript. 
We  sat  down,  Turkish  fashion,  upon  the  floor,  and 
examined  it.  If  it  is  as  old  as  is  pretended,  it  must 
be  the  most  remarkable  preservation  on  earth ;  but 


368  EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  old  priest  Ascending  Gerizim. 

we  had  no  faith  whatever  in  the  story.  The  vener- 
able priest,  with  his  long,  white  beard,  discoursed 
upon  it,  to  our  very  slight  edification,  as  we  did  not 
understand  a  word  he  said,  unless  it  was  interpreted 
by  Mr.  Thompson,  who  was  our  medium  of  conversa- 
tion. The  natives,  with  fixed  eyes,  listened  as  long 
as  it  was  open.  We  gave  the  old  man  a  half-dollar, 
according  to  agreement,  and  then,  at  his  request, 
doubled  the  donation.  The  door-keeper  and  two  or 
three  others  clamored  also  for  a  present ;  and  after 
all  had  been  about  half  satisfied,  we  took  our  de- 
parture. 

I  must  add,  that  some  scholars  regard  this  manu- 
script as  undoubtedly  very  ancient,  and  therefore  of 
great  value.  As  this  sect  will  doubtless  soon  become 
extinct,  those  who  believe  in  its  importance  have  sug- 
gested the  expediency  of  taking  measures  to  secure  it 
from  destruction. 

Taking  a  lad  with  us  for  our  guide,  we  walked  out 
of  the  city,  to  wander  for  an  hour  or  two  among  the 
scenes  of  sacred  interest  that  skirt  this  remarkable  and 
venerable  town.  It  was  natural  that  we  should  wish 
to  go  from  the  synagogue  of  the  Samaritans  to  the 
hill  on  which  they  had  worshipped  from  the  earliest 
ages  of  their  history.  Even  now,  and  four  times  in 
every  year,  they  march  in  solemn  procession,  reading 
the  law  as  they  go,  and  ascend  to  the  summit  of  Ger- 
izim  and  perform  their  worship,  not  without  the  shed- 
ding of  blood.  It  was,  therefore,  with  strong  and 
strange  emotions  that  we  took  their  line  of  march, 
and   on   the   Sabbath-day,  when,  more  than   on  any 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  369 

Women  at  the  fountain.  Burnt-offering. 

other,  we  could  feel  the  contrast  between  our  own  and 
the  ancient  Jewish  forms  of  religion,  we  wended  our 
way  out  of  the  upper  gate.  The  path  led  us  through 
well-tilled  gardens,  and  among  various  fruit  trees,  to 
a  large  fountain  where  several  women  were  washing 
clothes.  They  made  themselves  merry  with  our  ap- 
pearance, and  we  were  pleased  to  see  that  they  ven- 
tured to  enjoy  themselves  by  the  inspection  of  stran- 
gers. The  winding  path  up  the  hill,  to  avoid  the 
steepness  of  a  more  direct  ascent,  was  rough,  but  in 
twenty  minutes  we  arrived  at  the  ridge,  and  then 
bore  off  to  the  eastward  toward  a  wely,  or  tomb  of  a 
saint.  A  short  distance  from  this  was  a  hole  in  the 
ground  stoned  up,  perhaps  six  feet  deep  and  four 
across ;  ashes  and  brands  were  lying  in  it,  the  memo- 
rials of  recent  sacrifice.  For  although  we  have  the 
impression  that  even  in  Judea  there  is  no  more  sacri- 
fice for  sin,  and  the  day  has  long  since  gone  by  when 
the  blood  of  bulls  or  of  goats  is  shed  in  the  worship 
of  the  God  of  heaven,  it  is  true  that  this  remnant  of 
the  ancient  Samaritans  come  up  hither,  and  once  in 
every  year,  at  the  Feast  of  the  Passover,  they  slay 
and  burn  seven  lambs  at  the  going  down  of  the  sun ! 
They  lodge  all  night  in  tents  upon  the  mountain  and 
descend  the  next  day.  Again  they  come  on  the  day 
of  Pentecost,  and  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  and  on 
the  day  of  Atonement ;  a  people  over  whose  hearts  is 
a  double  vail,  and  who  will  doubtless  never  have  it 
removed.  A  little  further  on  we  came  to  the  founda- 
tions of  a  large  fortress  or  temple,  the  walls  of  it 
about  ten  feet  thick  and  made  of  immense  stones. 


370  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Bobinson  and  Smith.  Holy  Place. 

We  were  ready  to  believe  that  this  is  the  ancient  tem- 
ple of  the  Samaritans ;  but  Dr.  Robinson  determines 
it  to  be  the  remains  of  a  castle  erected  by  Justinian. 
There  is  no  use  in  disputing  Dr.  Robinson  and  his 
friend  Dr.  Smith;  and  when  we  have  their  united 
opinion,  the  two  witnesses  put  an  end  to  all  strife. 
I  have  consulted  books  many,  of  foreign  and  domestic 
production,  to  aid  me  in  forming  opinions  on  Pales- 
tine antiquities ;  but  modern  travellers  are  disposed, 
as  a  general  thing,  to  consider  the  "  Researches"  of 
these  gentlemen  as  exhausting  the  field  of  discussion. 
Certain  it  is  the  Samaritans  themselves  attach  no 
saeredness  to  these  ruins ;  and  their  tradition  would 
undoubtedly  have  preserved  the  identity  of  these 
stones  with  those  of  their  temple,  if  such  were  the 
fact.  We  examined  with  much  attention  a  number 
of  flat  stones,  on  the  west  side  of  the  walls,  lying  on 
the  ground,  under  which  we  are  told  are  the  twelve 
stones  brought  up  by  the  children  of  Israel  from  the 
river  Jordan,  and  with  which  the  altar  of  the  Samar- 
itans on  this  hill  is  said  to  have  been  built.  Now 
they  are  buried  under  these ;  and  here  they  are  to  lie 
until  the  Guide,  the  Saviour  of  the  Samaritans — not 
the  Messiah  of  the  Jews — appears. 

And  then  we  came  to  the  Holy  Place — the  Most 
Holy — a  broad  flat  rock,  like  a  threshing-floor,  level 
with  the  surrounding  earth,  and  sloping  westward  to 
a  cistern  into  which  the  blood  of  sacrifices  may  have 
flowed.  No  one  of  their  people  now  treads  upon  it 
unless  he  first  takes  off  his  shoes.  Wherever  they 
now  pray,  they  turn  their  faces  toward  this  sacred 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  371 


Dying  out.  Salem  in  sight. 

spot.  Doubtless  their  temple  stood  over  this  rock, 
and  the  site  of  its  walls  can  be  distinctly  traced.  In 
their  zeal  to  have  a  monopoly  of  the  holy  places,  the 
Samaritans  show  us  on  this  height  the  spot  where 
Abraham  offered,  his  sou.  As  we  stood  among  these 
memorials  of  this  remarkable  people,  it  was  painful 
to  reflect  that  they  are  perishing  from  among  men, 
without  the  slightest  evidence  being  given  that  any 
of  them  are  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
They  are  dwindling  away,  and  one  or  two  generations 
more  will  probably  terminate  their  race.  Dr.  Robin- 
son thinks  there  are  not  more  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  now  left  in  their  entire  community. 

The  view  is  exceedingly  interesting  from  this  sum- 
mit. On  the  rich  plain  below  us  are  villages  whose 
associations  are  with  the  earliest  records  of  Israel's 
history.  There  lies  Salem,  the  Shalim  before  which 
Jacob  pitched  his  tent.  Before  us  lies  the  plain  on 
which  Joshua  gathered  all  the  tribes  of  Israel,  and 
gave  them  his  dying  charge,  and  made  a  dying  cove- 
nant with  them,  and  took  a  great  stone  and  set  it  up 
under  an  oak  that  was  by  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord. 
And  that  stone  which,  Joshua  said,  had  heard  the 
words  of  the  Lord,  was  to  be  a  witness  unto  them 
lest  they  should  afterward  deny  their  God.  Here 
came  the  children  of  Israel  with  the  bones  of  Joseph, 
which  they  brought  up  out  of  Egypt ;  and  "  they 
buried  them  in  Shechem,  in  a  parcel  of  ground  which 
Jacob  bought  of  the  sons  of  Hamor:"  and  there  is 
his  tomb  to  this  day.  And  every  hill-top  that  I  see 
on  this  bright  Sabbath-day  is  not  more  lustrous  with 


372  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Woman  of  Samaria.  Old  shepherd. 

this  Eastern  winter  sun  than  with  the  imprint  of  the 
Divine  presence,  which  faith  discovers  in  all  the  mount- 
ains and  valleys  of  this  holy  land. 

And  just  here,  at  our  feet,  at  the  base  of  Mount 
Gerizim,  is  Jacob's  Well — the  scene  of  one  of  the 
most  interesting  and  instructive  incidents  in  the  life 
of  our  Lord.  We  mark  the  route  by  which  he  was 
journeying  along  through  this  valley ;  how  he  would 
naturally  pause  about  the  middle  of  the  day — the  sixth 
hour — at  this  well,  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city, 
while  his  disciples  went  there  to  buy  food;  the  wo- 
man of  Samaria  comes  thither  to  draw  water  as  he 
was  sitting  on  the  well,  which  was  stoned  up  a  few 
feet  above  the  ground;  and  then  followed  that  re- 
markable conversation,  in  which  she  says,  "  Our  fa- 
thers worshipped  in  this  mountain" — the  Gerizim,  on 
which  we  are  now  standing.  And  then  Jesus  re- 
vealed himself  unto  her  as  the  Messiah,  "the  Saviour 
of  the  world." 

While  we  were  on  the  ruins  of  the  old  fortress,  and, 
from  the  map  before  us,  were  selecting  the  points  of 
sacred  interest  in  sight,  an  old  shepherd,  an  Arab, 
came  up,  with  his  gun  in  hand,  and  spoke  with  us. 
He  was  tending  sheep  on  the  hillside ;  and  his  mat- 
ted beard,  loose  and  ragged  garments,  and  generally 
forlorn  appearance,  gave  us  no  flattering  picture  of 
pastoral  life  on  the  mountains  of  Israel.  He  carried 
his  gun  to  protect  himself  and  his  flock  from  the  rob- 
bers. And  well  he  might;  for  even  now,  while  he 
was  speaking,  a  party  of  Bedouins  rode  in  single  file 
along  the  foot  of  the  mountain ;   and  the  old  man  ad- 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  373 

Selling  us.  Moslem  beggars. 

vised  us  earnestly  not  to  venture  in  that  direction,  or 
we  might  fall  into  their  hands.  At  a  tomb  to  which 
we  came  on  our  way  down,  we  met  several  of  the 
natives,  who  also  cautioned  us  against  going  into  the 
plain ;  and  we  kept  around  the  hill  till  we  came  near 
the  city  where  some  men  were  plowing.  They  were 
not  so  friendly  as  the  others  we  had  met ;  and  as 
they  supposed  no  one  of  us  could  understand  their 
words,  they  said  to  the  lad  who  was  our  guide, 

"Why  do  you  not  take  those  Franks  down  toward 
the  well  ?  The  Bedouins  are  there,  and  will  plunder 
them." 

The  lad  very  properly  told  them  they  were  his 
friends,  and  he  wished  to  take  them  safely. 

"But  you  would  have  a  blessing  if  you  would  give 
them  to  the  robbers ;  it  would  be  a  meritorious  deed 
to  sell  the  dogs." 

Quite  a  number  of  beggars,  Moslem  as  they  were, 
did  not  scruple  to  take  our  hands  and  kiss  them, 
while  they  begged  us  imploringly  for  alms.  We 
scattered  a  few  piastres  among  them,  and  made  our 
way  into  the  city. 

On  my  way  up  stairs  to  our  lodgings,  I  dropped 
in  at  the  open  door  of  a  room  where  the  women  of 
the  family  of  our  host  were  at  dinner.  There  were 
four  of  them  sitting  around  a  dish  of  olives,  which 
were  roasting  over  a  pan  of  coals.  One  was  an  old 
lady,  the  mother  of  Assam's  wife.  She  rose,  and  ap- 
proaching me,  kissed  my  hand.  Two  young  women 
came  forward  and  gave  me  the  same  respectful  salu- 
tation.    And  then  Mrs.  Assam,  a  beautiful  woman  of 


374  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Beautiful  woman.  Guards  desert 

about  twenty-five,  in  handsome  dress — a  yellow  jack- 
et, very  open  in  front,  embroidered  tastefully,  and  a 
blue  shirt  of  silk,  with  ornaments  of  gold  on  her  head 
and  neck — decidedly  the  most  attractive  woman  it 
was  my  fortune  to  meet  in  the  land  of  Palestine,  ap- 
proached me  and  took  my  hand,  and  pressed  her  lips 
upon  it.  All  this  was  done  with  a  gracefulness  and 
simplicity  truly  charming.  They  knew  that  I  was 
a  guest  of  the  master  of  the  house,  and  they  desired 
to  show  me  their  kind  feelings  in  the  midst  of  an  ill- 
disposed  and  unfriendly  people.  As  such,  and  as  a 
specimen  of  Oriental  manners,  it  was  a  delightful 
incident ;  and  although  we  could  not  speak  a  word 
that  either  could  understand,  I  sat  down  and  con- 
versed with  Mrs.  Assam  in  the  language  of  signs, 
which  are  intelligible  all  the  world  over.  Necessity 
is  the  mother  of  invention;  and  these  telegraphic 
communications  are  rapidly  made  when  we  wish  to 
exchange  thoughts  and  have  no  words. 

Ishmael  was  the  name  of  the  captain  of  our  guard, 
whom  we  had  engaged  at  Nazareth.  He  had  certifi- 
cates of  his  remarkable  tact  and  courage  in  conduct- 
ing travellers  in  all  parts  of  the  country ;  and  we  had 
no  reason  to  doubt  his  fidelity  and  willingness  to  en- 
counter all  reasonable  risks  in  our  protection.  We 
were  sitting  in  our  room  on  the  afternoon  of  the  Sab- 
bath, expecting  to  set  off  on  our  journey  the  next 
day,  when  Ishmael  entered  and  announced  that  he 
and  his  party  had  determined  not  to  proceed  any  far- 
ther, as  they  had  heard  that  the  roads  were  perfectly 
impracticable,   so  many  and  so  fierce  were  the  Bed- 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  375 


ouin  Arabs  who  were  plundering  the  villages  at  the 
south  of  us.  In  vain  we  offered  them  their  own 
terms,  and  reasoned  with  them  on  the  improbabilities 
that  peaceable  travellers  would  be  molested.  Much 
as  they  wanted  money,  and  there  are  no  people  in 
the  world  more  greedy  to  get  it,  they  declined  to  go 
any  farther  with  us,  and  we  were  obliged  to  give 
them  a  discharge.  Our  landlord,  and  friends  of  his 
in  the  city,  called  frequently  to  see  us,  and  give  us 
the  latest  news,  as  it  was  brought  in  by  those  who 
arrived  in  Nablous  from  the  country;  and  the  uni- 
form testimony  of  all  who  came  to  us  was,  that  trav- 
elling was  now  out  of  the  question,  unless  we  were 
under  an  escort  strong  enough  to  resist  the  attack  of 
parties  of  Bedouins  from  one  hundred  to  five  hun- 
dred in  number.  Now  I  began  to  appreciate  the 
counsel  which  Mr.  Marsh,  the  American  Minister  at 
Constantinople,  had  given  me — not  to  go  to  Pales- 
tine at  all.  He  assured  me  that  he  had  recently  re- 
ceived such  intelligence  from  that  country,  as  to  con- 
vince him  that  travelling  was  altogether  out  of  the 
question ;  and  he  thought  I  had  better  go  directly  to 
Egypt,  and  leave  the  Holy  Land  till  peace  was  re- 
stored. It  seemed  to  us  that  our  way  was  now 
hedged  up,  and  we  must  either  quietly  stay  where 
we  were,  or  make  some  extraordinary  effort  for  deliv- 
erance. At  all  events,  we  must  not  attempt  to  pro- 
ceed to-morrow. 

In  the  morning,  the  muleteers — to  whom  we  had 
not  communicated  our  intention  of  lying  still  for  the 
present — sent  a  deputation  up  to  our  quarters,  to  say 


376  europe'and    the    east. 

Train  does  not  start.  Men  of  Shechem. 

that  they  were  unwilling  to  proceed  any  farther  to- 
ward Jerusalem,  unless  the  gentlemen  would  give 
them  security  for  the  value  of  their  property,  in  case 
their  mules  were  carried  off  by  the  Bedouins.  A  panic 
was  among  them  all.  However  willing  we  might 
have  been  to  go  on,  there  was  no  help  for  us  now. 
The  train  would  not  start  to-day.  Our  host  was  very 
decided  in  resisting  our  attempts  at  advance,  though 
he  would  be  greatly  relieved  when  we  should  be 
fairly  from  under  his  roof.  We  heard  every  hour  of 
discontent  in  the  town ;  and  we  had  reason  to  fear 
that  some  future  historian  of  Nablous  might  have  it  to 
say,  "the  men  of  Shechem  dealt  treacherously  with 
them."  We  sent  our  dragoman,  and  Mr.  Assam  went 
with  him,  to  the  governor's  house,  to  lay  before  him 
our  situation,  and  obtain  a  suitable  escort.  His  Ex- 
cellency was  not  yet  prepared  to  see  company,  and 
our  delegation  returned  to  report  progress.  There 
was  no  farther  objection  to  remaining  as  we  were. 
Providence  had  evidently  hedged  up  our  way,  saying 
to  us  very  plainly,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no 
farther."  Very  reluctantly  we  yielded  to  the  neces- 
sity of  the  case,  and  determined,  since  we  could  not 
do  as  we  would,  to  do  as  we  could,  and  to  spend  the 
day  in  looking  at  the  objects  of  sacred  interest  in  and 
around  the  town,  hoping  that  by  the  morrow  a  way 
would  be  open  for  an  escape. 


CHAPTER    XXY. 

LAND     OF     PALESTINE. 

Excursion  to  Jacob's  Well — Taking  away  the  Stone — Getting  in — 
Measuring  the  Well — The  Bedouins  coming — Getting  out — Mount- 
ing in  hot  Haste  —  Flight  —  Pursuit  —  Overtaken  —  Assault  —  Mr. 
Righter's  Gallantry — He  is  wounded — Escape — Guides  robbed — 
Return  to  Town  —  Appeal  to  the  Governor  —  Contract  with  a 
Sheikh — Preparation — Party  enlarged — Escape  by  retired  Route 
—  Plain  of  Sharon  —  Antipathies — Village  Life  —  Fight  among 
Muleteers — Maid  at  the  Well — Reach  Jaffa. 

Toward  noon  we  rode  out  to  Jacob's  Well.  Our 
party  consisted  of  Messrs.  Calhoun,  Thompson,  Groes- 
bech,  Hill,  Bighter,  and  myself.  The  dragoman  An- 
tonio went  as  guide.  Not  apprehending  any  danger 
in  an  excursion  so  near  the  town,  we  had  left  our 
pistols  in  our  room,  and  were  now  entirely  unarmed. 
One  of  the  people  of  the  town,  a  poor  fellow  who 
hoped  by  following  us  to  get  a  present,  and  the  lad 
who  had  been  our  guide  to  Gerizim  the  day  before, 
joined  themselves  to  the  party.  Thus  escorted,  we 
set  off  to  the  well.  No  one  of  the  places  of  interest 
in  sacred  history  is  more  distinctly  marked  than  this. 
The  scriptural  account  of  its  location  is  so  definite, 
the  great  value  placed  upon  wells  in  early  times,  and 
the  easy  tradition  that  would  preserve  the  name  of 
such  a  spot,  leave  no  room  even  for  the  incredulous  to 
hang  a  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  the  locality. 


378        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

In  the  well.  Bedouins  coming. 


All  parties,  Mohammedans  and  Christians,  Jews  and 
Samaritans,  regard  the  place  as  identified.  We  were 
half  an  hour  in  reaching  it  from  the  walls  of  the  town. 
Around  the  old  well  was  a  heap  of  rubbish,  and  a 
large  stone  lay  over  the  mouth.  Our  guides  attempt- 
ed to  lift  it,  and  failed ;  but  at  my  suggestion  they 
put  a  strap  around  one  end  of  it  and  pulled  it  out. 
We  found  that  this  was  the  opening  through  a  plat- 
form over  the  well,  and  that  the  real  mouth  was  not 
immediately  beneath  it,  but  about  three  feet  to  the 
east.  Mr.  Kighter  and  I  succeeded  in  squeezing  our- 
selves through  the  mouth  of  the  platform,  and  bent  over 
the  well.  We  had  brought  a  line  for  measuring  the 
depth,  and  attaching  a  stone  to  the  end  of  it,  we 
lowered  it  to  the  bottom.  Just  as  the  stone  struck 
the  bottom,  the  dragoman  called  out  to  us  to  make 
haste,  as  a  band  of  Bedouins  were  coining  upon  us. 
I  told  him  to  tie  a  knot  in  the  cord  that  we  might  de- 
termine the  depth  from  the  upper  surface,  and  we 
would  come  up.  It  took  us  some  time  to  draw  the 
stone  with  the  cord  from  the  bottom  of  the  well, 
which  we  afterward  measured  and  found  to  be  seventy- 
five  feet  deep.  There  was  no  water  in  it  at  this  time ; 
but  our  companion,  Mr.  Calhoun,  who  was  here  in 
April,  1839,  measured  the  well  then,  and  found  water 
to  the  depth  of  ten  or  twelve  feet.  In  March,  Maun- 
drel  found  fifteen  feet.  He  describes  it  as  covered 
by  an  old  stone  vault,  into  which  he  "descended  by  a 
narrow  hole  in  the  roof,  and  there  found  the  proper 
mouth  of  the  well,  a  broad  flat  stone  upon  it."  Some 
travellers  have  stated  the  depth  of  the  well  to  be  a 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  379 

Depth  of  well.  Coming  out. 

hundred  feet,  and  others,  a  hundred  and  five.  It  is 
not  improbable  that  formerly  the  well  has  been  deeper 
than  it  is  now,  and  successive  travellers  have  thrown 
stones  into  it,  till  the  accumulation  of  rubbish  in  the 
bottom  has  diminished  its  depth. 

Dr.  Robinson  examines  the  authorities  in  reference 
to  the  well,  and  considers  the  question  as  conclusively 
settled  that  this  is  the  actual  well  of  the  patriarch, 
and  that  it  was  dug  by  him  in  some  connection  with 
the  possession  of  the  parcel  of  ground  bought  of 
Hamor,  the  father  of  Shechem,  which  he  gave  to  his 
son  Joseph,  and  in  which  Joseph  and  his  brethren 
were  buried.  Here  our  blessed  Saviour  sat  when 
wearied  with  his  journey,  and  taught  the  woman  and 
his  disciples  and  the  people  who  thronged  from  the 
city  to  hear  him.  Here,  in  full  view  of  the  mount  on 
which  the  Samaritans  worshipped,  he  discoursed  to 
them  on  the  worship  of  the  only  living  and  true  God, 
and  the  way  of  access  to  him. 

During  all  the  time  that  we  had  been  engaged  in 
measuring  the  well,  Antonio  had  been  clamoring 
loudly  for  us  to  come  up,  insisting  upon  it  that  the 
Bedouins  were  near  at  hand.  It  was  impossible  for 
me  to  believe  that  there  was  any  actual  danger,  and  I 
proceeded  to  wind  up  the  line  around  the  stone,  which 
occupied  some  little  time.  Then  Mr.  Righter  and  I 
emerged  from  the  mouth  of  the  well,  and  found  our 
party  already  mounted  and  ready  to  start.  Antonio, 
who  was  also  upon  his  horse,  told  us  to  hasten,  and 
pointed  to  the  south,  where  I  saw,  but  a  short  distance 
off,  a  company  of  Bedouins — some  ten  or  twelve  in 


380  EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

No  time  to  lose.  Antonio  runs. 

number — riding  slowly  in  single  file,  with  their  lances 
at  rest,  and  their  guns  slung  over  their  shoulders.  As 
we  had  not  a  weapon  among  us,  and  they  would  have 
been  more  than  a  match  for  us  if  we  had,  and  as  there 
were  none  of  our  party  disposed  to  encounter  the  haz- 
ard of  a  skirmish  with  a  party  of  armed  Bedouins, 
fresh  from  the  plunder  of-  surrounding  villages,  and 
now  prowling  in  the  vicinity  of  Nablous,  in  hope  of 
seizing  upon  passing  travellers,  it  was  evident  that 
our  only  safety  was,  under  God,  in  making  our  way 
as  rapidly  as  possible  toward  the  walls  of  the  city. 
Yet  even  then  I  was  disposed  to  hold  on,  and  parley 
with  the  enemy,  presuming  that  when  they  found  out 
that  we  were  Franks,  and  had  no  hostile  intention, 
they  would  not  molest  us.  But  Antonio,  coward  as 
he  was,  and  as  all  braggarts  are,  led  oif  at  full  speed. 
Imminent  as  the  peril  was,  it  was  positively  amusing 
to  see  the  figure  this  valorous  dragoman  cut,  as  he 
went  like  a  streak  toward  the  city.  His  horse  was 
small,  but  tough  and  wiry,  and  the  fleetest  of  the 
party.  Now  put  to  his  speed,  his  frightened  rider 
kicking  his  sides,  his  tail  streaming  in  the  wind,  he 
ran  as  if  all  the  Bedouins  this  side  of  Jordan  were 
after  him,  and  never  halted  in  his  flight  till  he  was 
safe  within  the  walls  of  old  Shechem.  The  rest  of 
us  were  soon  following,  as  swiftly  as  our  several  horses 
would  carry  us.  Unfortunately,  I  was  mounted  on 
one  which  had  been  selected  for  me  on  account  of  his 
peculiar  gentleness  and  easy  carriage,  and  following 
behind  the  rest,  he  refused  to  make  any  special  effort 
to  escape. 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  381 

The  pursuit.  Mr.  Righter, 

The  Bedouins  halted  behind  a  spur  of  the  hill,  and 
one  of  their  number  was  dispatched  to  overtake  us. 
Looking  over  my  shoulder,  I  saw  him  coming,  in  full 
leap  upon  me,  with  his  lance  balanced  and  ready  to 
run  it  through  my  back.  Mr.  Righter  could  easily 
have  pressed  on  and  made  his  escape,  but  seeing  that 
I  was  in  danger  of  being  left  alone,  and  likely  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  while  the  rest  were 
already  so  far  ahead  as  to  be  sure  of  escape,  with  a 
noble  spirit  of  self-sacrifice,  as  rare  in  history  as  it  is 
beautiful  to  record,  he  reined  up,  and  fell  back  be- 
tween me  and  the  Bedouin,  who  was  instantly  along- 
side of  us.  Dashing  by  and  wheeling  suddenly  in 
front,  he  called  out  to  us  to  stand ;  and  selecting  my 
friend  as  his  first  victim,  drove  his  spear  into  his  side, 
then  struck  him  twice  with  it  over  the  head  and  back, 
evidently  designing  to  bring  him  from  his  horse,  and 
to  detain  him,  and  so  the  rest  of  us,  till  his  party 
should  come  up.  Mr.  Calhoun,  looking  around  and 
seeing  our  situation,  returned,  calling  to  the  monster 
in  his  own  tongue  to  desist.  It  was  a  fearful  sight  to 
see  this  black  villain  thrusting  his  spear  into  the  body 
of  my , defenceless  and  devoted  friend.  I  was  within 
six  feet  of  him,  only  waiting  my  turn,  expecting  the 
band  to  come  up  and  surround  us  in  a  moment. 
Whatever  may  have  been  my  feelings  of  alarm  while 
we  were  pursued,  they  all  gave  way  to  calmness  and 
composure  when  I  considered  myself  and  friend  as 
captives  in  the  hand  of  a  savage  foe,  and  entirely  at 
his  mercy.  It  was  my  expectation  that  he  would  dis- 
patch my  friend,  and  then  fall  upon  me.     The  return 


382        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  band  coming.  Guides  robbed. 

of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  of  Mr.  Thompson  who  followed 
him,  seemed  to  suggest  to  the  Bedouin  the  necessity 
of  calling  for  the  rest  of  his  party,  who  were  hut  a 
few  hundred  yards  from  where  we  were  arrested. 
Ordering  us  to  remain  where  we  were,  he  dashed  off 
to  his  company,  gave  them  the  signal,  and  they  sallied 
forth  in  pursuit.  This  was  our  only  chance  for  a  des- 
perate effort  to  reach  the  town,  and  we  made  the  most 
of  it.  Just  as  they  came  out  from  behind  the  rock 
where  they  were  hid,  the  two  native  guides,  who  had 
been  down  to  the  well  with  us,  appeared,  and  one 
of  them  laid  hold  of  the  horse  of  the  foremost  Bed- 
ouin by  the  bridle,  and  remonstrated  with  the  rob- 
bers against  assailing  us.  These  circumstances  for- 
tunately delayed  them  for  a  few  moments ;  for  they 
fell  upon  him,  beat  him  to  the  earth,  pierced  him 
with  their  spears,  stripped  him  naked,  and  left  him 
to  drag  himself  home.  This  delay  gave  us  just  the 
time  which  we  needed,  in  order  to  make  good  our 
escape;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  we  avail- 
ed ourselves  of  all  the  time  that  was  allowed  us,  and 
by  dint  of  hard  riding  reached  the  town  in  safety. 
Our  doughty  dragoman,  who  should  have  stood  by  us 
in  the  affray,  had  arrived  some  time  in  advance,  alto- 
gether unconscious  of  the  narrow  escape  that  we  had 
made,  and  of  the  peril  through  which  we  had  passed. 
We  were  hardly  there  and  safe  when  the  lad  who 
had  followed  us  came  rushing  into  our  room,  looking 
more  dead  than  alive — his  eyes  starting  from  his  head 
in  fright.  His  red  skull-cap  had  been  pulled  off  by 
the  Arabs ;  but  as  he  had  nothing  else  on  him  worth 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  383 

The  wounded  guide.  Mr.  TMjrhter's  wound. 

stealing,  they  had  let  him  go,  and  he  had  made  the 
best  of  his  way  to  us  to  report  the  miserable  fate  of 
his  companion,  who  had  fared  worse  in  the  hands  of 
these  pitiless  robbers.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we 
were  called  on  by  the  friends  of  the  poor  fellow,  who 
told  us  a  pitiful  tale  of  his  sufferings  in  our  service, 
and  of  the  great  loss  he  had  sustained.  They  said 
that  he  had  sold  a  gun  that  morning,  and  had  the 
money  with  him,  which  was  taken  with  his  clothes. 
Not  a  word  of  this  did  we  believe ;  but  it  was  pru- 
dent to  keep  the  peace  with  these  Nablous  people, 
and  we  did  not  care  to  be  troubled  with  an  example 
of  Holy  Land  law.  So  we  requested  our  worthy  host 
to  go  and  see  the  man,  and  pay  him  what  was  right. 
A  few  dollars  made  it  a  profitable  operation  for  him, 
and  probably  hastened  his  recovery. 

Our  anxieties  were  now  turned  to  Mr.  Righter,  the 
only  one  of  us  who  had  suffered  personal  injury.  The 
spear  had  passed  through  his  Mackintosh,  his  surtout, 
frock-coat,  and  under-clothing,  inflicting  a  flesh  wound 
just  below  the  ribs  on  his  left  side.  I  washed  it  out 
with  cold  water,  and  applied  a  plaster,  dressing  it  as 
well  as  we  could,  and  wishing  to  conceal  from  our 
men,  and  from  the  people  of  the  town,  the  nature  of 
our  adventure.  There  was  alarm  enough  without  our 
adding  excitement  to  the  flame.  My  friend  com- 
plained of  soreness  in  his  limbs,  and  in  the  course 
of  the  day  and  night  following  he  had  some  fever; 
but  he  rested  better  than  could  be  expected,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  week  was  free  from  any  ill  effects. 

We  now  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Aga,  or  governor 


384  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  governor.  More  news. 

of  the  town,  invoking  his  aid  to  secure  us  a  safe  pas- 
sage. He  replied,  that  at  present  all  the  roads  were 
impracticable ;  but  he  hoped,  in  a  few  days,  the  quar- 
rels among  the  people  would  be  settled,  when  he 
would  send  us  out  with  an  adequate  escort.  He  had 
but  two  hundred  soldiers,  and  these  were  far  from 
sufficient  to  protect  the  town  if  the  Bedouin  Arabs 
should  turn  their  arms  against  it.  Rumors  were  also 
abroad  of  a  threatened  rising  of  the  Nablous  Moslems 
against  the  Christians ;  and,  in  the  present  wretched- 
ly-distracted condition  of  the  country,  it  was  impos- 
sible to  anticipate  the  issues  of  a  day. 

Our  situation  was  now  becoming  a  matter  of  gen- 
eral solicitude.  Two  of  the  chief  men  of  the  city 
called  to  express  their  sympathy  with  us  in  our  im- 
prisonment, and  to  offer  all  the  protection  their  favor 
could  afford.  We  treated  them  to  pipes  and  coffee, 
which  they  received  in  silence,  and  enjoyed  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  before  a  word  was  said. 

In  the  evening  a  man  was  brought  to  us,  who  said 
that  he  had  just  arrived  from  Jerusalem ;  five  hundred 
Bedouins,  in  roving  parties,  held  possession  of  the  in- 
tervening country;  he  had  taken  a  way  through  the 
mountains,  and  had  made  the  passage.  We  heard,  also, 
of  one  or  two  villages  more  that  had  been  plundered, 
and  many  of  the  inhabitants  butchered.  The  reports, 
we  had  no  doubt,  were  exaggerated ;  but  after  making 
every  allowance  for  the  public  apprehension,  which 
magnified  the  facts,  we  knew  that  the  sooner  we  were 
out  of  the  country  the  better ;  and,  if  we  escaped  at 
all,  we  must  take  our  lives  in  our  hands  and  flee. 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  385 

A  Turkish  officer.  Another  move. 

Abdullah  Gunneh  is  an  officer  of  the  small  Turk- 
ish force  in  Nablous,  and  a  man  of  wide  repute  in  the 
country.  We  were  advised  to  apply  to  him  to  extri- 
cate us  out  of  the  difficulties  which  were  thickening 
every  moment.  We  sent  for  him,  and  he  came  to 
our  room ;  a  tall,  solemn,  silent  man,  with  a  heavy 
beard,  a  stoop  in  his  shoulders,  and  nothing  to  indi- 
cate energy  but  a  small,  quick  eye.  Scarcely  no- 
ticing us,  as  he  entered,  he  sat  down  on  the  divan, 
adjusting  his  long,  heavy  sword,  to  his  position,  and 
looked  on  the  floor.  The  pipe  was  offered  him,  and 
he  took  a  few  whiffs ;  coffee  followed,  and  he  drank 
the  tiny  cup  without  a  word.  Mr.  Calhoun  opened 
the  business,  which  was  to  ask  him  if  it  was  in  his 
power  to  conduct  us  safely  to  Jerusalem,  or  to  Jaffa ; 
which  places  were  equally  distant — about  the  journey 
of  a  day  and  a  half.  He  said  that  he  could  not  do 
it  by  force.  The  highways  were  beleaguered  by  so 
many  of  the  Bedouins,  he  could  only  hope  to  carry 
us  through  by  his  personal  influence  with  those  we 
might  meet.  We  made  a  bargain  with  him  to  take 
a  sufficient  force  to  resist  any  small  marauding  par- 
ties, and  to  be  ready  to  start  at  daylight  in  the  morn- 
ing. 

The  prospect  before  us  was  not  the  most  pleasing, 
and  the  recollections  of  the  day  past  were  not  com- 
posing to  nervous  temperaments,  but  we  rested  well, 
and  taking  an  early  breakfast,  were  on  horseback  be- 
fore sunrise.  We  waited  anxiously  for  the  chief  with 
his  escort,  but  he  did  not  come.  At  last  he  sent  word 
that  he  had  heard  in  the  course  of  the  night  of  so 
Vol.  IL—  R 


386        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Worse  and  worse.  A  bargain. 

much  disturbance  in  the  country,  he  could  not  insure 
our  safety,  and  he  advised  the  delay  of  another  day. 
We  had  to  submit ;  and  we  soon  heard  the  same  sto- 
ries that  the  chief  had  received,  of  the  sacking  of  a 
neighboring  village  by  the  Bedouins,  who  had  cut  the 
throats  of  forty  men  and  two  women.  A  long  and 
gloomy  day  we  dragged  out,  walking  on  the  flat  house- 
top upon  which  the  door  of  our  chamber  opened,  and 
looking  on  the  sacred  mountains  near  us,  and  up  to 
the  heavens  wherein  He  dwells  who  alone  can  help  us 
in  this  time  of  need.  How  often  and  how  earnestly, 
in  all  this  captivity,  we  asked  him  to  deliver  us,  I 
will  not  say.  In  the  evening  the  sheikh  came  again, 
and  having  reported  that  the  road  to  Jaffa  was  com- 
paratively secure,  he  declared  his  readiness  to  make  a 
contract  to  conduct  us  there,  and  he  would  be  respon- 
sible for  all  our  effects.    The  contract  was  as  follows : 

"  The  reason  of  this  paper  is — I,  Abdullah  Gunneh, 
whose  seal  is  affixed,  agree  to  conduct  Howadji  Prime 
and  his  companions,  six  in  number,  with  ten  horse- 
men to  Jaffa ;  and  to  make  good  all  the  loss  of  prop- 
erty which  they  shall  represent  on  their  conscience ; 
and  they  shall  pay  me  fifty  piastres  for  each  horse- 
man, and  one  hundred  and  fifty  piastres  for  myself." 

Instead  of  signing  his  name  to  the  writing,  he 
covered  the  signet  on  his  right  hand  with  ink,  and 
made  the  impression.  Assam  did  the  same  with  his, 
and  the  bargain  was  sealed. 

January  18.  We  rose  at  four  o'clock  this  morning 
and  called  the  men,  who  were  still  sound  asleep.  It 
was  an  important  crisis  in  our  journey,  and  with  many 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  387 

On  the  house-top.  Mr.  Assam. 

misgivings  we  addressed  ourselves  to  the  day  that 
was  before  us.  Mr.  Calhoun,  with  great  interest  and 
solemnity,  conducted  religious  services  in  our  room, 
and  commended  lie  and  our  absent  families  to  God, 
who  alone  is  able  to  keep  us  in  the  midst  of  enemies. 
While  our  breakfast  was  preparing,  I  walked  on  the 
house-top  with  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  spoke  of  Abraham, 
and  Jacob,  and  Joshua,  who  had  been  here  in  the 
midst  of  these  hills  and  plains,  and  had  trusted  God  in 
more  trying  circumstances  than  ours.  The  morning 
sun  was  rising  over  Ebal  and  gilding  the  summit  of 
Gerizim,  stealing  along  by  degrees  through  the  valley, 
speaking  to  us  of  the  smiles  of  heaven,  awakening  in 
our  bosoms  hopes  of  a  propitious  day.  We  were 
about  to  set  our  faces  toward  the  sea,  not  knowing 
what  should  befall  us  by  the  way,  and  exceedingly 
doubtful  as  to  the  issue  of  our  journey.  While  we 
were  at  breakfast,  word  came  from  the  sheikh  Abdullah 
Gunneh  that  he  was  ready  for  us,  and  would  be  in 
waiting  with  his  guard  on  the  outside  of  the  northern 
gate  of  the  town.  Our  friends  Assam  and  his  family 
took  an  affectionate  leave  of  us,  commending  us  to 
the  kindly  care  of  our  Heavenly  Father ;  and  it  was 
with  unfeigned  gratitude  that  we  returned  to  this 
amiable  man  our  thanks  for  the  great  kindness  which 
he  had  shown  us  during  our  painful  captivity  within 
his  walls.  He  keeps  a  house  for  lodging  travellers, 
and  I  can  commend  it  to  those  who  may  follow  me, 
as  being  without  doubt  the  most  desirable  place  of  rest 
in  Nablous.  In  addition  to  the  price  which  Antonio 
paid  him  for  the  use  of  the  rooms,  according  to  his 


388        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  eruards.  The  party. 

bargain,  we  insisted  upon  his  receiving  a  present  from 
us,  as  some  small  token  of  our  esteem  for  his  faith- 
fulness. 

At  his  door  we  mounted  our  horses,  and  in  single 
file,  through  the  narrow  streets  of  the  town,  wound 
our  way  out  of  the  gate  into  the  midst  of  the  gardens 
and  the  olive  trees  with  which  the  town  is  surrounded, 
and  there  awaited  the  coining  of  the  shiekh  and  his 
men.  We  feared  at  first  that,  as  he  had  not  arrived, 
we  were  doomed  to  be  disappointed,  and  might  have 
to  return  and  wait  still  another  day.  Soon,  however, 
two  men  dressed  as  Bedouins,  and  armed  with  spears 
and  guns,  and  with  pistols  in  then*  girdles,  rode  up 
and  informed  us  that  they  belonged  to  the  party  of 
the  sheikh,  who  would  soon  make  his  appearance. 
Presently  he  emerged  from  another  quarter  of  the  city, 
having  taken  the  precaution  to  assemble  his  guards 
from  different  directions,  in  order  that  the  appearance 
of  an  armed  body  of  men  might  not  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  any  of  the  Bedouins  in  the  surrounding  hills. 
He  was  a  man  quite  above  the  ordinary  height,  a 
solemn  Turk,  with  a  heavy  black  beard,  beautiful 
blue  cloth  dress,  with  a  red  sash  confining  the  loose 
:  cloak,  which  he  soon  threw  off,  and  left  exposed  his 
military  dress.  He  wore  loose  blue  trowsers,  an  ele- 
gant pistol  girdle,  richly  embroidered,  and  a  long 
heavy  sword  with  steel  scabbard.  Decidedly  he  was 
a  man  of  mark:  his  appearance  was  well  fitted  to 
command  the  respect,  and,  in  case  of  an  emergency,  to 
render  him  formidable  in  the  eye  of  an  enemy.  The 
soldiers  whom  he  had  brought  with  him  were  not  in 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  389 

Strolling  players.  We  are  oft 

uniform,  but  were  dressed  each  for  a  specific  purpose. 
One  was  his  adjutant,  and  rode  back  and  forth  over 
the  long  line  of  our  company,  which  was  often  in 
single  file,  and  extended  over  a  great  distance;  an- 
other, and  the  fiercest,  was  armed  with  a  long  gun. 
and  a  stiff,  short  dirk  in  his  belt,  and  dressed  with  a 
white  aba  and  white  turban,  and  might  have  been 
taken  for  a  priest  but  for  his  weapons  and  the  fight 
which  was  flashing  in  his  eyes  and  tingling  in  his 
fingers. 

Just  as  we  were  ready  to  get  under  way,  a  large 
party  issued  from  the  city,  on  mules  and  donkeys,  and 
in  the  gray  of  the  morning,  as  they  came  out  through 
the  olive  groves,  in  their  various  costumes,  they  pre- 
sented an  extraordinary,  and,  for  some  time,  mysteri- 
ous appearance.  We  soon  learned  that  they  were 
parties  who  had  heard  that  an  armed  escort  was  that 
morning  to  set  off  for  Jaffa,  to  accompany  Frank  trav- 
ellers, and  as  they,  like  us,  had  been  confined  to  the 
city  for  several  days,  waiting  for  a  door  of  escape, 
they  had  determined  to  set  off  under  the  protection 
of  our  guns.  Some  of  them  were  strolling  musi- 
cians, having  been  wandering  among  the  villages  of 
Palestine  and  Syria,  and  were  now  on  their  way  to 
Egypt,  by  way  of  the  sea.  Their  musical  instruments 
over  their  shoulders,  had  given  to  us  the  idea  that  we 
were  to  be  reinforced  by  a  number  of  armed  travellers  ; 
and  probably,  in  case  of  an  emergency,  we  should  have 
found  their  instruments  quite  as  efficient  as  any  weap- 
ons which  they  might  have  brought  with  them. 

Our   sheikh  proposed   to  conduct  us   off  from  the 


390  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Villages.  Passes.  Sharon. 

ordinary  routes  of  travel,  and  by  unfrequented  paths 
among  the  mountains,  to  lead  us  to  the  plain  of 
Sharon.  In  the  course  of  an  hour  after  we  left  Na- 
blous,  we  halted  on  the  western  side  of  the  hill  of 
Samaria,  which  we  had  ascended  from  the  east  hut  a 
few  days  before.  The  villages  of  Keison,  and  Beitlicl, 
and  Raman  were  on  the  road  that  we  took.  The  vil- 
lagers came  out  to  see  us  as  we  passed  on.  At  other 
times,  when  they  first  saw  us  coming,  they  would  flee 
and  secrete  themselves,  as  though  they  feared  that  we 
were  an  enemy  about  to  invade  their  peaceful  homes. 
The  men  who  were  at  work  in  the  fields  were  always 
armed  with  guns  to  protect  themselves ;  like  those 
who  built  the  wall  of  Jerusalem  of  old,  with  a  tool  in 
one  hand  and  a  weapon  in  the  other. 

About  noon  the  plain  of  Sharon  opened  to  our  view 
— the  widest  and  most  extensive  in  Palestine — stretch- 
ing from  Mount  Carmel  on  the  north,  away  to  the 
Great  Desert  on  the  south,  while  the  Mediterranean 
Sea  is  before  us  under  the  western  horizon.  We 
passed  on  the  plain  the  village  of  Kulinsameh,  in 
which  were  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  church ;  and  then 
south  we  came  on  to  the  village  of  Tireh,  and  striking 
off  westward  we  halted,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon, at  Miskeh,  a  village  near  Antipatris,  where  Paul 
was  brought  at  night  by  the  soldiers,  from  Jerusalem, 
on  his  way  to  Rome. 

The  houses  of  the  village  were  low,  and  the  roofs 
covered  with  grass.  The  people  at  first  were  alarmed 
as  we  came  up,  but  after  we  had  chosen  a  plot  of 
ground,   and  proceeded  to  pitch   our  tents  in  peace, 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  391 

Salutations.  Maid  at  the  well. 


they  gathered  about  us ;  the  chief  received  the  salu- 
tations of  the  older  men,  who  came  near  and  touched 
heads,  and  laid  their  hands  on  their  breasts,  in  token 
of  friendship.  They  then  sat  down  upon  the  grass, 
in  a  circle  of  some  twenty  or  thirty,  and  lighting  their 
pipes,  passed  them  around  from  one  to  another,  thus 
establishing  an  acquaintance  at  once.  The  women 
of  the  village  were  out  at  an  ancient  Roman  well, 
eighty  feet  deep,  and  walled  up  with  hammered  stone. 
A  crotched  tree  over  the  mouth  of  it,  with  a  grooved 
roller  in  the  crotch,  answered  for  a  wheel,  round 
which  a  rope  was  passed.  An  earthen  jar  was  at- 
tached to  the  rope ;  and  when  this  had  been  let  down, 
two  women  walked  off  with  the  rope  to  the  distance 
of  eighty  or  a  hundred  feet,  thus  drawing  the  jar  to 
the  surface.  Righter  and  I  stepped  to  the  well, 
where  a  pretty  maiden  was  standing,  with  her  jar 
upon  the  platform,  some  four  or  five  feet  from  the 
ground.  She  was  rather  scantily  dressed  for  a  fair 
girl  of  seventeen ;  having  nothing  on  but  a  coarse 
sack,  and  a  string  around  her  waist,  leading  her 
breasts,  arms,  and  much  of  her  lower  limbs  exposed 
to  the  weather.  She  let  down  her  pitcher,  others 
drew  the  rope,  and  when  it  came  up  full,  she  brought 
it  to  the  edge  of  the  platform  and  tipped  it  over  to 
our  lips,  so  that  we  drank  as  did  Abraham's  servant 
at  the  hand  of  Rebecca. 

It  was  now  even-tide,  and  we  sat  in  the  door  of  our 
tent  at  the  close  of  a  most  beautiful  day.  It  was 
hard  to  persuade  ourselves  that  danger  lurked  in  the 
midst  of  such  a  balmy  clime.     A  shriek  broke  upon 


392  EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

A  fight  Camp-fires. 

our  ears;  and,  running  from  the  tents,  we  found 
two  of  our  muleteers  clinched  in  fight.  Mr.  Calhoun 
rushed  between  them  to  separate  them;  but  as  they 
both  fell,  he  was  brought  down  to  the  ground  with 
them.  I  plunged  into  the  melee  to  extricate  my 
friend,  imploring  him  to  let  them  fight  it  out  between 
themselves,  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  losing  his  own 
life  in  the  affray.  One  seized  a  tent-pin,  and  smote 
the  other  over  the  head;  the  other  seized  a  mallet, 
with  which  the  pins  were  driven  in  the  ground,  and 
rushed  back  to  return  the  blow.  I  caught  his  arm, 
and  Mr.  Calhoun  laid  hold  of  the  stick  with  which 
the  other  was  about  to  renew  the  attack,  and,  with 
the  aid  of  Antonio,  we  finally  succeeded  in  parting 
the  belligerents. 

Our  guards  and  servants  built  camp-fires  in  front 
of  the  tent,  and  stretched  themselves  on  their  mats 
around  it,  presenting  a  strange  spectacle  in  the  midst 
of  the  darkness  that  was  now  settling  around  us.  As 
they  lay  on  their  backs,  looking  up  at  the  stars  in 
this  cle.ir,  glorious  night,  I  thought  of  the  wise  men 
of  the  East,  and  the  pursuit  of  the  science  of  astron- 
omy in  Arabia  and  other  countries  of  the  East,  as  na- 
tural to  men  who  were  accustomed  to  sleep  out  of 
doors,  with  their  attention  so  constantly  attracted 
toward  the  heavens.  Mr.  Eighter  suffered  much  in 
the  night  from  the  spear  wound  in  his  side ;  he  com- 
plained of  soreness  in  his  bones,  and  had  much  fever, 
but  no  inflammation,  and  there  was  every  prospect 
of  his  doing  well.  What  a  noble  deed!  What  a 
beautiful   deed!      To  throw  himself,   as  he   did,   be- 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  393 

Rightcr's  devotion.  Off  again. 

tween  me  and  a  savage  with  a  weapon  of  death  in  his 
hand !  I  long  to  tell  of  his  devotion  to  my  children. 
I  know  they  will  cherish  his  name,  and  repeat  the 
story  to  those  who  come  after  them.  History  has 
told  us  of  soldiers  who  have  died  for  their  command- 
ers ;  of  heroism  in  battle,  when  glory  was  to  be  gained 
by  self-sacrifice ;  but  here  was  no  tie  but  that  of 
friendship ;  no  obligation,  no  expectation,  but  a  mag- 
nanimous exposure  of  a  friend,  who  devotes  his  life 
to  protect  me  from  death,  and  to  give  me  an  opportu- 
nity to  escape  while  he  was  in  danger  of  being  slain. 
I  rejoice  that  I  had  strength  to  resist  any  temptation 
to  flee;  and  though  unarmed,  and  aware  that  other 
enemies  were  at  hand,  was  able  to  stand  near  my 
friend  so  long  as  he  was  exposed  to  the  same  danger. 

January  19.  We  rose  at  five  in  the  morning,  having 
slept  pleasantly,  though  waked  occasionally  by  the 
various  cries  and  calls  of  men,  horses,  mules,  jackals, 
dogs,  etc.,  by  which  the  village  and  our  tent  were 
surrounded.  Abdullah  Gunneh  and  his  men  had  by 
turns  kept  constant  guard  around  us,  determined  to 
be  faithful  to  his  trust,  and  feeling  that  we  were  not 
yet  in  a  place,  of  safety.  When  we  rose,  the  mule- 
teers were  hard  at  work  in  packing,  and  the  soldiers 
impatient  to  set  off.  We  present  the  appearance  of  a 
small  army  about  to  enter  the  field.  3Ir.  Righter  has 
slept  well,  and  is  decidedly  better  than  last  night. 
My  fears  are  relieved  about  the  results  of  his  wound, 
though  I  should  be  still  more  pleased  if  the  soreness 
in  his  bones  would  leave  him. 

It  is  sunrise  on  the  plains  of  Sharon.     In  the  midst 

R* 


394  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Plain  of  Sharon.  Meeting  Bedouins. 

of  our  journey  over  this  prairie,  covered  with  flowers, 
which  we  often  paused  to  gather,  we  were  surprised 
by  the  sudden  appearance  of  a  large  party  of  Bedouins, 
handsomely  mounted,  with  their  spears  at  rest,  and 
each  with  a  gun  across  his  shoulders,  which  he  lowered 
and  cocked  as  the  whole  body  brought  up  at  the  side 
of  our  party.  Fortunately  they  were  friends  of  our 
chief,  Abdullah  Gunneh ;  and  after  he  had  exchanged 
a  few  words  of  friendly  greeting  with  them,  they  suf- 
fered us  to  pass  on.  They  were  handsomely  equipped, 
armed  to  the  teeth,  and  a  better-looking  set  of  men 
than  the  Nablous  Arabs  whom  we  had  met  a  few 
days  before.  Half  an  hour  after  passing  them,  we 
came  upon  the  black  tents  of  the  Bedouins.  The 
children  were  playing  around  them,  the  women  at 
work,  and  cattle  grazing  near.  There  were  few  vil- 
lages upon  this  plain,  which  was  but  little  cultivated, 
being  chiefly  used  for  pasturage.  As  we  were  riding 
over  the  plain,  the  chief  came  up  to  Antonio,  who 
was  smoking,  and  said  to  him :  "I  suppose  that  pipe 
was  given  you  by  your  father,  who  had  it  by  a  will 
from  your  grandfather,  and  that  you  mean  to  keep  it 
all  to  yourself,  and  to  give  it  to  your  oldest  son/' 
Antonio  took  the  hint  and  handed  him  the  pipe,  from 
which  he  took  a  few  whiffs,  and  returned  it  to  its 
owner. 

About  two  hours  from  Jaffa,  we  came  to  a  magnifi- 
cent fountain,  rising  in  the  plain,  and  sending  out 
such  copious  supplies  of  water  as  to  make  quite  a 
river,  which  flows  toward  the  sea.  Through  gardens 
of  oranges  and  lemon-trees,  and  prickly-pear  hedges. 


LAND     OF     PALESTINE.  395 

Jatfa.  Simon  the  Tanner. 

passing  a  large  grave-yard,  in  which  the  women,  close- 
ly vailed,  were  sitting  over  the  graves  of  their  departed 
friends,  we  approached  the  gates  of  Jaffa.  Several 
large  caravans  of  camels  and  traders  were  on  the  out- 
side. We  pitched  our  tent  near  to  the  quarantine 
ground,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  the  Consul,  Jacob 
Murad,  who  received  us  with  the  greatest  cordiality, 
and  insisted  on  our  leaving  the  tents  and  taking  pos- 
session of  his  villa,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  gate. 

We  spent  a  few  days  in  the  villa  of  the  Consul ; 
when  Mr.  Calhoun  and  Mr.  Thompson  returned  by 
the  steamer,  to  Beyroot,  and  we  waited  for  another  to 
come  on,  in  which  we  would  take  passage  for  Egypt. 
It  was  with  great  reluctance  that  we  abandoned  the 
idea  of  penetrating  into  the  interior  of  Palestine ;  but 
all  the  information  that  we  could  gain  from  travel- 
lers who  came  in  to  Jaffa,  confirmed  the  impressions 
we  formed  from  our  own  observation,  that  it  was 
unsafe  to  travel,  and  that  we  must  defer  our  visit  till 
a  more  favorable  season.  We  walked  out  on  the  sea- 
side, near  the  spot  which  is  still  pointed  out  as  the 
place  where  abode  Simon  the  Tanner,  at  whose  house 
Peter  was  staying  when  he  had  the  vision  of  the  sheet 
let  down  from  heaven  by  the  four  corners.  (Acts,  ii.  5). 

There  is  nothing  else  of  interest  or  importance  in 
and  about  this  city,  which  is  now  a  seaport  for  Jeru- 
salem, at  which  the  steamers  around  the  coast  of  the 
Mediterranean  touch,  on  their  way  from  Constantino- 
ple to  Egypt.  Mr.  Murad,  the  Vice-Consul,  was  in- 
cessant in  his  attentions  and  kindnesses,  of  which  we 
cherish  a  grateful  and  pleasing  memory.     His  villa 


396  EUROPE     AND     THE     EASTo 

Waiting.  Going  to  Egypt. 

gave  us  a  quiet  resting-place  for  a  few  days,  while  we 
waited  to  hear  of  a  more  peaceful  state  of  things.  Mr. 
Groesfaeck,  one  of  our  party,  determined  to  remain 
and  take  his  chance  of  getting  safely  to  Jerusalem. 
Messrs.  Calhoun  and  Thompson  returned,  by  steam- 
er, to  Beyroot.  With  my  friends,  Messrs.  Hill  and 
Kighter,  I  went  down  into  Egypt, 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

EGYPT ALEXANDEIA. 

Donkey-boys  of  Egypt — Mixed  People — Alexandria — The  Square — 
Ruins  of  Alexandrian  Library — Bastinado — Paying  Workmen — 
Penny  a  Day — Cleopatra's  Needles — Alexander's  Tomb — Pom- 
pey's  Pillar — Catacombs — Women  with  Children  on  their  Shoul- 
ders — Flies  on  their  Eyes  —  Ophthalmia — Tyranny  —  Kecruits  — 
Funeral  Customs. 

One  day  and  night  Tby  steamer  brought  us  to 
Alexandria  from  Jaffa,  and  five  miserable  days  saw 
us  in  a  vile  quarantine  on  the  shore  of  Egypt.  The 
American  Consul,  Mr.  De  Leon,  and  friends  to  -whom 
I  had  letters,  strove  to  release  us  from  the  "house  of 
bondage,"  but  in  vain.  We  must  serve  our  time. 
And  we  did.  On  the  morning  of  the  fifth,  a  pomp- 
ous little  doctor  pronounced  us  fit  to  go  at  large. 

At  the  door  of  tlie  prison  the  donkey-boys — a  "pe- 
culiar institution"  of  this  country,  as  the  dogs  are  of 
Turkey — rushed  upon  us  in  a  body,  and  shouting  in 
broken  English  and  French  the  praises  of  their  beasts, 
fairly  thrust  them  on  us,  while  attempting  to  thrust 
us  upon  them. 

I  fastened  my  eye  upon  the  best  looking  one  of  the 
lot,  and  nodded  to  the  boy  who  held  him.  He  fol- 
lowed me  outside  of  the  gang,  and  I  straddled  the 
little  creature,  and  went  tearing  along  the  streets, 


398 

EUROPE 

AND 

THE 

E  A  S  T. 

Donkey-boys. 

Piazza. 

A  LEXANDKiAN    DONKEY-BO  VS. 


the  boys  running  behind  and  thrashing  the  donkeys. 
Meeting  all  sorts  of  people,  Greeks,  Arabs,  and  Franks, 
soon  we  came  out  on  the  magnificent  Piazza  of  Alex- 
andria. 

But  were  we  really  in  Egypt  ?  We  look  out  of  the 
windows  of  our  hotel,  but  we  see  only  a  modern  city. 
Impatient  of  our  confinement,  we  leave  the  house  to 
find  the  world  of  the  past.  In  the  court  below  we 
are  set  upon  by  the  boys  with  their  donkeys.  They 
press  into  the  doors  :  they  pull,  and  shout,  and  shove, 
till  you  are  tempted  to  strike  them  in  self-defense. 
Again  we  are  astride  of  these  little  animals,  whose 
gait  is  ambling  and  easy,  so  that  a  child  or  a  lady  is 
at  ease  on  their  backs.  "Now  stick  close  to  him," 
said  I  to  my  boy ;  to  which  he  replied,  "Me  no  stick 
him  now:  me  stick  him  when  he  lazy." 


EGYPT ALEXANDRIA.  399 


The  Library. 


At  the  head  of  the  square,  some  three  or  four  hun- 
dred workmen  were  digging  up  the  ruins  of  a  mighty 
edifice  which  for  centuries  had  been  buried.  Old 
Egypt  was  rising  from  its  grave.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
site  of  the  Alexandrian  Library.  The  Ptolemies 
founded  and  fostered  it,  and  placed  over  its  doors  this 
inscription:  "The  nourishment  of  the  soul;"  or,  as 
Diodorus  has  it,  "  The  medicine  of  the  mind."  At  the 
death  of  the  second  Ptolemy  it  had  within  its  walls 
100,000  volumes,  and  afterward  nearly  1,000,000. 
Here  the  Seventy  made  the  Greek  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament  under  the  direction  of  Ptolemy  Phila- 
delphus.  To  enrich  this  library  no  cost,  nor  toil,  nor 
fraud  was  wanting.  To  borrow  books  and  not  return 
them,  though  a  sore  evil,  is  not  a  modern  one.  Ptol- 
emy Euergetes  took  advantage  of  the  famished  Athe- 
nians and  borrowed  their  beautiful  originals  of  Sopho- 
cles and  iEschylus,  and  Euripides,  and  returned  them 
copies,  with  an  immense  sum  in  money  as  a  small 
compensation  for  the  treasure  he  had  secured.  Julius 
Caesar  set  fire  to  the  Egyptian  fleet,  and  the  flames, 
spreading  to  the  houses  on  shore,  reached  and  laid  in 
ruins  that  portion  of  the  library  which  was  in  the 
museums.  The  remainder,  in  the  Temple  of  Serapis, 
was  exposed  to  the  storms  of  war,  and  perished  in  the 
midst  of  those  calamities  which  came  down  on  this* 
city  under  the  Caliph  Omar.  That  fanatical  chief 
gave  up  the  library  to  the  flames,  declaring,  as  he 
issued  the  order,  "If  these  books  agree  with  the  book 
of  God,  they  are  useless ;  if  not,  they  ought  to  be  de- 
stroyed."    So  the  books  were  used  for  fuel  in  heating 


400        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Poor  laborers.  Bastinado. 

the  baths  of  the  city,  of  which  there  were  then  four 
thousand. 

Workmen    were    now    busy    among    these    ruins. 
Walls  of  brick  and  mortar,   the  mortar  thicker  and 
harder   than    the  bricks    themselves,    and    the   walls 
twenty  feet  wide  ;  mighty  arches  to  support  the  build- 
ing and  the  marble  floor  still  here ;   and  in  the  midst 
of  the  superincumbent  earth,  great  masses  of  molten 
glass  and  stone,   showing  the  work  of  ruin  to  have 
been  done  by  fire.     Mingled  in  the  mighty  ruin,  I  saw 
them  disclosing  beautiful  Corinthian  capitals  and  hand- 
some white  marble  columns,  in  wild  disorder  strewn 
over  each  other  and  through  the  pile,  melancholy  re- 
mains of  grandeur,   on  which  successive  generations 
have  walked,  unconscious   of  what   was  hid   below. 
The  laborers,  men,  women,  and  children,  were  at  work ; 
some  of  them  with  barrows,  and  others  with  baskets, 
even  little  children  who  could  carry  but  a  few  hand- 
fuls  being  as  busy  as  the  rest.     As  we  were  climbing 
over  and  among  the  ruins  we  came  upon  a  couple  of 
fellows  in  a  fight,  beating  each  other's  faces,  biting, 
and  pulling  hair.     Presently  the  overseer,  with  a  thong 
of  solid  leather  in  his  hand,  appeared.     At  the  sight 
of  him  the  fighting  ceased.     At  the  nod  of  the  over- 
seer, and  without  the  need  of  a  word,  two  men  seized 
one  of  the  fighters  and  stretched  him  on  the  ground. 
With  his  heavy  whip  the  overseer  laid  twenty  tremen- 
dous blows  across  the  poor  fellow's  hips  and  back. 
One  held  his  hands  and  another  his  feet  while  the 
bastinado  was  applied ;  and  when  the  victim  writhed 
in  his  pain  and  wrenched  his  feet  from  the  hands  of 


EGYPT ALEXANDRIA.  401 

Dinner.  Penny  a  day. 

him  who  held  them,  the  overseer  came  down  with  the 
same  severity  upon  the  one  who  had  thus  let  go,  and 
beat  him  till  he  caught  his  legs  again  and  held  them 
more  firmly  to  the  end  of  the  punishment.  The  other 
fellow,  without  waiting  to  be  called  or  seized,  threw 
himself  flat,  and  took  the  beating  without  squirming, 
jumping  up  as  soon  as  it  was  over,  and  resuming  his 
work  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 

It  was  now  noon.  At  a  given  signal,  the  whole 
body  of  laborers  left  their  work,  and  coming  out  into 
the  street,  sat  down  in  a  long  row,  as  miserable  a  set 
of  people  as  could  be  found  at  work  any  where.  A 
man  with  a  list  of  their  names,  an  ink-horn  by  his 
side  and  pen  in  his  hand,  came  along  with  another 
who  had  a  bag  of  money.  They  paid  this  ragged  com- 
pany their  daily  wages,  which  in  the  case  of  the  men 
were  about  two  cents  a  day,  and  the  women  and  chil- 
dren a  penny  or  less,  even  lower  wages  than  are  men- 
tioned in  the  New  Testament  as  the  price  of  a  day's 
work.  How  it  is  possible  for  any  population  to  keep 
soul  and  body  together  on  such  hire  it  is  hard  to  un- 
derstand. While  this  was  going  on,  their  dinner  was 
brought  to  many  of  them.  It  consisted  of  a  soup 
made  of  beans  and  onions,  or  a  few  olives  roasted ; 
scanty  as  well  as  miserable  fare.  The  work  now  go- 
ing on  was  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  and 
these  wretched  fellahs,  without  decent  and  sufficient 
food,  are  worked  under  the  lash  to  the  last  point  of 
human  endurance. 

There   are  but   two  monuments  of  antiquity  now 
standing  in  Alexandria,  and  to  one  of  these  we  now 


402        EUEOPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

The  Needles.  Tombs. 

bent  our  steps.  Cleopatra's  Needles  are  as  famous  as 
the  Queen  herself;  hut  these  well-known  shafts  were 
never  erected  by  her  authority,  and  ought  not  to  bear 
her  name.  One  of  them  is  lying  on  and  under  the 
sand,  where  it  fell  from  its  pedestal.  The  other  is 
standing  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  from  it — a  single 
shaft  of  red  Syenite,  about  seven  and  a  half  feet 
through  at  the  base,  and  tapering  like  a  pyramid  to 
its  summit,  which  is  sixty-three  feet  from  the  ground. 
The  sides  are  covered  with  hieroglyphics,  which 
mark  the  names  of  Thothmes  III.,  B.C.  1495,  and 
Remeses  the  Great.  Formerly  these  obelisks  were  at 
Heliopolis,  and  were  brought  down  to  Alexandria  by 
the  Romans,  to  add  to  the  embellishments  of  this  city. 
The  one  that  is  lying  prostrate — a  mute  emblem  of 
Egypt — has  been  given  away  by  the  government  to 
England  and  France ;  but  neither  is  disposed  to  carry 
it  off.  Indeed,  the  hieroglyphics  are  so  defaced  by 
time,  that  it  is  hardly  worth  the  cost  of  transporta- 
•  ion.  It  would  not  be  strange  if  the  other  should  soon 
foil  by  its  side,  for  the  base  of  it  has  been  hacked 
off,  and  the  substructure  worked  away,  till  it  seems 
strange  that  it  retains  its  perpendicularity.  This  is 
the  site  of  the  Ccesarium,  or  Temple  of  Cassar.  The 
palaces  of  the  kings  were  in  the  same  quarter,  and 
their  tombs,  and  this  must  have  been  the  most  splen- 
did part  of  the  city.  Here  the  Ptolemies  were  buried ; 
and  it  is  said  that  the  body  of  Alexander  the  Great, 
in  a  gold  coffin,  was  brought  hither  from  Memphis. 
The  natives  point  us  to  a  tomb  which  they  call  Alex- 
ander's ;    and,  after  a  long  delay  to  get  the  key,  we 


EGYPT ALEXANDRIA.  403 


Pompey's  Pillar. 


were  admitted  into  a  little  edifice,  like  a  private  chapel, 
where  we  were  called  to  look  down  into  an  empty 
sarcophagus,  and  believe,  if  we  could,  that  the  body 
of  the  conqueror  had  once  been  there. 

Through  rows  of  the  tamarisk,  and  by  the  stately 
palms,  we  rode  out  to  a  mound  on  the  southeastern 
side  of  the  town,  overlooking  the  lake  Mareotis,  and 
the  forts  Constantino  and  Napoleon.  There,  on  this 
height  commanding  the  city  and  a  view  far  out  to 
sea,  stands,  "  solitary  and  alone,"  the  column  of  Dio- 
cletian, or  popularly  known  as  Pompey's  Pillar.  One 
must  see  it  to  appreciate  the  striking  beauty  of  a  sin- 
gle pillar  of  polished  red  Syenite,  rising  ninety-eight 
feet  and  eight  inches  from  the  ground  to  the  top  of 
the  capital.  The  column,  without  the  pedestal  and 
capital,  is  an  unbroken  block  of  granite,  nine  feet  in 
diameter,  and  .seventy-three  feet  high.  How  such  a 
shaft  as  this  could  have  been  raised  to  its  present  po- 
sition, our  knowledge  of  ancient  art  does  not  enable 
us  to  say.  If  it  should  fall,  who  could  restore  it  to 
its  pedestal  ?  Such  a  calamity  was  feared  a  few  years 
ago,  the  curiosity  of  travellers  and  the  cupidity  of 
the  natives  having  led  them  to  break  off  pieces  of  the 
foundation,  and  to  dig  out  the  cement,  until  there  was 
actual  danger  that  the  column  would  fall.  The  Pasha 
put  an  end  to  this  Vandalism,  and  repaired  the  injury. 
But  the  face  of  the  monument  has  been  injured  by 
the  itching  for  notoriety,  which  has  induced  European 
travellers  to  inscribe  their  names  on  it  with  paint,  in 
a  strife  to  see  who  could  write  their  names  the  high- 
est.     Smart  travellers  have   ascended   the  pillar  by 


404  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Sore  eyes.  Catacombs. 

means  of  a  rope  ladder,  carried  to  the  top  by  a  kite, 
and  there,  on  the  capital,  which  is  slightly  depressed 
to  receive  a  statue,  these  unromantic  people  have  had 
a  picnic,  or  written  letters  to  their  friends.  The  folly 
and  danger  of  such  an  experiment  were  so  evident 
that  the  semi-civilized  Pasha  forbade  the  refined  and 
prudent  Europeans  to  expose  themselves  in  this  ex- 
ploit again.  The  Greek  inscription  on  this  celebrated 
pillar  proves  that  it  was  reared  by  the  Governor  of 
Egypt  to  the  memory  of  the  Roman  Emperor  Diocle- 
tian, who  took  the  city  a.d.  296.  But  Pompey's 
name  has  been  associated  with  it  so  long,  it  will  cling 
to  it  forever. 

The  catacombs  of  Alexandria  are  on  the  sea-side, 
an  hour's  ride  west  of  the  city.  The  way  is  lined 
with  the  hovels  of  the  Arab  population.  Women  with 
faces  vailed,  and  breasts  exposed,  their  lower  limbs 
loosely  covered  with  a  ragged  cotton  garment,  carried 
naked  babies  astride  their  shoulders  or  on  the  tops 
of  their  heads :  they  seemed  unconscious  of  danger. 
Many  of  these  children  had  black  patches  of  flies  about 
their  eyes,  sucking  the  sores.  The  mothers  did  not 
drive  the  flies  off,  knowing  that  a  new  set  would  take 
their  place,  and  make  matters  worse. 

Near  the  water's  edge  we  entered  the  catacombs, 
and  stood  in  silent  astonishment  before  these  ancient 
subterranean  structures.  Through  many  successive 
chambers,  under  portals  of  skillful  workmanship,  and 
fitted  up  to  receive  the  bodies  of  the  dead,  we  fol- 
lowed our  guide  with  torches,  and  surveyed  the  most 
interesting  monuments  of  the  former  greatness   and 


EGYPT ALEXANDRIA.  405 


Funeral  customs.  Waitings. 

magnificence  of  Alexandria.  All  this  was  once  a 
suburb  of  the  city,  and  gardens  and  villas  covered 
the  surface,  while  underneath  the  silent  dead  reposed 
in  these  splendid  tombs.  We  were  led  along  into  a 
vaulted  and  circular  chamber,  which  seems  to  have 
been  a  temple,  with  niches,  like  chapels,  at  its  side. 
The  Doric  architecture  of  the  portal  differs  from  the 
sculptures  that  are  found  on  the  monuments  of  Egypt. 
Returning  from  this  excursion  we  met  two  or  three 
funeral  processions.  I  have  been  curious  in  all  coun- 
tries to  inquire  into  the  rites  and  customs  that  belong 
to  the  dying  and  dead.  Here  in  Egypt,  as  the  sick 
man  is  about  to  expire,  a  friend  turns  his  face  toward 
Mecca,  and  closes  his  eyes.  As  he  breathes  his  last, 
the  attendants  cry,  "Allah!  there  is  no  power  but 
God !  To  God  we  belong,  and  to  him  we  must  re- 
turn !  God  have  mercy  on  him ! "  The  women  rend 
the  air  with  their  shrieks,  his  wives  and  children 
crying,  "Oh  my  master!"  "Oh  my  camel!"  "Oh 
my  lion!"  "Oh  my  glory!"  and  wailing-women,  or 
hired  mourners,  come  in  and  assist  in  the  lamenta- 
tion. They  bring  instruments  of  music,  and  add  to 
the  hideous  sounds  of  woe  with  which  the  house  is 
filled.  The  same  scenes  are  common  in  all  the  East 
when  the  spirit  leaves  the  body.  My  rest  was  broken 
by  these  howls  while  at  Nablous,  and  when  first 
roused  from  sleep,  I  thought  there  must  be  a  general 
alarm  of  fire  in  the  town.  In  Egypt  it  is  common  to 
bury  the  corpse  on  the  same  day  of  the  death ;  and  a 
superstitious  dread  prevails  of  keeping  it  in  the  house 
over  night.     But  if  the  death  occurs  in  the  after  part 


406  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  body.  The  bier. 

of  the  clay,  the  mourners  remain  around  it,  and  keep 
up  the  lamentations  all  night ;  for  they  do  not  "bury 
after  sunset.  The  body  is  thoroughly  washed,  the 
nose  is  stuffed  with  cotton,  and  the  corpse  is  sprink- 
led with  camphor  and  water,  and  dressed,  according 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  deceased,  in  white  or  green 
colors,  cotton  or  silk,  and  covered  with  a  shawl.  The 
body,  thus  arrayed  for  the  grave,  is  placed  upon  a 
bier,  without  a  coffin,  and  the  procession  is  formed  as 
we  met  it  in  our  ride  to-day.  A  few  poor  men,  Mr. 
Lane  says,  mostly  blind,  walk  on  ahead,  and  chant, 
in  a  melancholy  strain,  the  universal  Moslem  cry, 
"God  is  great,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet." 
Then  come  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased, 
and  some  of  the  priests  or  holy  men,  bearing  some 
emblem  of  their  order.  Three  or  four  boys,  bearing 
a  copy  of  the  Koran,  come  on  chanting  a  song  de- 
scriptive of  the  last  judgment.  Then  the  bier  is 
borne  on  the  shoulders  of  men  who  frequently  relieve 
one  another  of  the  load,  and  even  persons  who  are 
casually  passing,  lend  a  hand,  and  thus  do  a  good 
deed.  The  women  follow  the  bier,  with  disheveled 
hair,  and  wailing  piteously,  the  immediate  relatives 
being  distinguished  by  a  blue  cotton  band  about  the 
head,  and  tied  in  a  knot  behind,  the  ends  hanging 
down.  A  rich  man  goes  to  his  grave  in  more  pomp 
than  this.  Three  or  four  camels  precede  him,  loaded 
with  bread  and  water,  which  are  given  to  the  poor  at 
his  tomb.  His  horses  are  also  sometimes  led  in  the 
procession.  The  body  is  taken  to  the  mosque,  when 
the  Imaum,  or  priest,  stands  on  the  left  side  of  the 


EGYPT ALEXANDRIA.  407 

The  priest.  The  angels. 

bier,  the  attendants  behind  the  priest,  and  the  women 
behind  the  men,  when  the  priest  performs  a  funeral 
service,  in  which  he  offers  prayers  for  the  soul  of  the 
departed,  and  even  for  his  body,  that  the  earth  may 
be  kept  back  from  pressing  against  his  sides.  Re- 
sponses are  made  by  those  standing  around,  and  when 
the  ceremony  is  over  the  procession  forms  again,  and 
moves  to  the  grave-yard.  In  the  case  of  a  person 
who  can  afford  the  expense,  a  brick  vault  is  prepared 
with  an  arched  roof,  and  so  spacious  that  the  dead 
may  be  able  to  sit  up  in  it  when  the  two  angels  come 
to  examine  him.  A  form  of  instruction  is  addressed 
to  the  dead  after  he  is  laid  in  the  vault,  teaching  him 
what  he  must  say  when  the  angels  come ;  for  it  is 
believed  that  they  will  visit  him  in  his  tomb,  to  learn 
of  his  faith  and  his  fitness  to  be  taken  to  Paradise. 
The  men  wear  no  kind  of  mourning-dress,  but  the 
women  put  on  blue  or  black  vails,  and  stain  their  arms 
and  the  walls  of  their  chambers  of  the  same  color. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS. 

Egyptian  Steamers — Omnibus — Canal — Women  on  Shore — Mounds 
and  Euins — Managing  the  Craft — English  Captain  throwing  his 
dead  Child  overboard — Funeral — Atfeh — The  Nile — Overflow — 
Boolak — Caravan — Cairo — The  Streets  at  Night — The  Streets  by 
Day — Citadel — Mosques — Mamelukes — Palace  of  the  Pasha — The 
Sphinx  and  the  Pyramids. 

We  ride  in  an  omnibus  from  the  hotel  in  Alexan- 
dria to  the  Mahmoodeh  canal.  We  go  by  steamer  to 
Cairo.  Next  year  we  may  go  by  railroad  from  one 
city  to  the  other. 

If  that  is  not  sufficiently  modern  and  common-place, 
wait  patiently  a  few  years  and  you  shall  hear  of  the 
cars  for  Gaza  and  Jerusalem.  The  omnibus  inns 
over  to  the  Red  Sea,  and  a  ship  canal  is  already  pro- 
jected. 

The  fare  to  Cairo  was  fifteen  dollars,  the  distance 
one  hundred  and  sixty-six  miles,  the  time  thirty 
hours.  The  steamer  was  to  be  off  at  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  and  we  were  on  board  in  good  season. 
The  boat  was  short  and  clumsy,  the  managers  Egyp- 
tian, and  the  management  ludicrous  always.  In  their 
native  costume,  with  white  turbans,  loose  jacket  and 
vest,  with  belt  and  big  pantaloons,  the  hands  on  board 
made  noise  enough  for  a  man-of-war.  On  the  bank 
of  the  canal,  in  the  midst  of  pleasant  villas  and  gar- 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  409 

Captain  and  crew.  Mud  huts. 

dens,  and  near  the  lake  Maroetis,  we  can  see  the  new 
railway  stretching  into  the  south,  and  a  locomotive 
practicing  on  it,  by  way  of  preparing  for  a  trip  to  the 
Pyramids.  At  nine  o'clock  we  were  actually  off, 
when  a  carriage  came  in  sight,  with  a  party  who  must 
he  taken  on  hoard.  We  came  to  and  took  them  in. 
One  man  tumbled  into  the  canal  in  his  haste  and  awk- 
wardness, but  he  was  soon  picked  out  and  dried. 
The  captain  sits  on  a  plank  across  the  bows  of  the 
boat,  with  a  large  tin  horn  in  his  hand,  through  which 
he  issues  his  orders,  and  often  calls  to  the  natives  on 
the  shore.  In  one  of  the  villas  we  are  passing,  a  bevy 
of  women,  nearly  a  dozen  of  them,  are  behind  a  screen 
on  the  piazza,  making  themselves  merry.  Although 
we  can  get  only  glimpses  of  them  through  the  blinds, 
we  are  glad  to  think  that  they  are  having  something 
to  laugh  at,  poor  things !  shut  up  like  prisoners,  lest 
the  profane  eyes  of  us  innocent  travellers  should  see 
them. 

The  country  is  flat  as  a  floor,  and  nothing  occurs 
to  relieve  the  monotony  of  the  view,  unless  we  see  the 
fellahs  gathering  grass  for  fuel — the  grass  that  "  to-day 
is,  and  to-morrow  is  cast  into  the  oven" — or  sitting  on 
the  ground  by  the  side  of  their  conical  mud  huts,  that 
look  more  like  large  ant-hills  than  small  houses.  The 
wind  is  now  so  high  that  we  raise  a  sail  to  help  the 
steamer  on ;  the  confusion  and  uproar  it  occasions 
would  not  be  greater  if  we  were  clearing  the  decks  for 
action  with  an  enemy.  We  come  to  villages  of  mud 
huts,  with  palm-trees  rising  in  the  midst,  holding  their 
green  heads  far  above  the  filth  and  misery  at  their 
Vol,  II.— S 


410  EL'liOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Canal.  English  officers. 

base;  where  the  men  and  donkeys  are  huddled  to- 
gether in  heaps  of  ordure,  the  smell  of  which  loads  the 
breezes  as  we  pass.  Children  nearly  naked,  and  some 
of  them  quite,  come  running  along  the  shore  and 
stretching  out  their  hands,  imploring  us  to  throw  them 
something  to  eat. 

This  canal  we  are  now  passing  through  is  a  great 
work  for  modern  Egypt,  and  was  made  as  the  Pyra- 
mids were,  by  the  mandate  of  a  tyrant  and  the  blood 
of  the  people.  Mohammed  Ali  made  it  in  a  year,  set- 
ting two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men  at  work, 
who  scooped  out  the  earth  with  their  hands  if  they 
could  get  no  tools,  and  twenty  thousand  of  the  poor 
laborers  perished  in  the  work.  But  what  of  that  to 
the  master  ?  He  wanted  the  canal,  and  did  not  want 
the  people  after  it  was  done. 

On  my  passage  down  this  canal,  the  overland  pas- 
sengers from  India  were  in  the  boat  with  us,  and 
among  them  several  officers  of  the  British  army,  re- 
turning with  their  families.       One  of  them,  Captain 

,  had  his  wife  and  three  children.     The  oldest 

of  the  children,  a  boy  of  three  years,  had  been  sick  on 

the  journey,  and  died  as  they  came  on  board  at  Cairo. 

|  It  was  wrapped  up  in  a  shawl  and  laid  on  the  table 

in  the  cabin,  where,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  it  became 

;  offensive  to  the  passengers.      To  my  surprise  I  was 

|  called  on  to  perform  a  funeral  service,  but  was  still 

more  astonished  when  I  learned  the  intention  of  the 

father  to  throw  the  body  of  his  child  into  the  canal. 

I  assured  him  that  in  four  or  five  hours  we  would  be 

in  Alexandria,  and  the  child  could  be  decently  buried 


CAlliO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  411 

Dead  child.  On  the  Nile. 

there.  He  said  lie  preferred  to  have  it  attended  to 
now,  if  I  would  oblige  him  by  performing  the  service. 
Going  to  the  mother,  I  suggested  the  expediency  of 
postponing  the  burial  till  we  should  reach  the  city. 
To  my  greater  amazement  she  thought  it  would  be 
well  to  proceed.  We  then  had  the  usual  funeral  ex- 
ercises ;  the  father  took  up  the  corpse  of  his  boy,  which 
was  wound  in  white  napkins,  handed  it  to  a  brother 
officer  through  the  window  of  the  cabin,  and  he  dropped 
it  overboard  into  the  canal.  It  floated  behind  us  as 
we  kept  on  our  way,  and  I  presume  it  was  eaten  by 
the  dogs  in  twenty  minutes.  I  strove  to  learn  from 
his  countrymen  who  were  with  us  some  motive  for 
this  extraordinary  conduct.  They  could  find  no  rea- 
son but  to  save  the  expense  of  a  burial  on  shore. 

Atfeh  is  the  mud  town  at  the  junction  of  the  canal 
with  the  Nile.  Boats  loaded  with  grain  lined  the 
banks  of  the  canal.  A  row  of  shade-trees  on  each 
side  quite  relieved  the  monotony  of  the  voyage  as  we 
came  to  the  lock,  and  after  a  tedious  detention  got 
ashore,  and  made  a  general  rush  to  the  larger  steamer 
that  was  to  carry  us  up  the  river  to  Cairo. 

On  the  Nile — on  the  Nile !  and  a  broader,  swifter, 
altogether  a  more  respectable  river,  than  we  had  looked 
for.  Three  or  four  steamers  were  lying  here,  and 
gave  quite  a  business-like  appearance  to  the  place. 
They  belong  to  the  government,  and  are  used  in  the 
transport  of  passengers  up  and  down  the  Nile,  of 
whom  there  are  many  thousands  every  year,  over  this 
the  grand  highway  between  England  and  India. 

The  next  morning  we  were  far  enough  up  the  Nile 


412 


EL'KUTE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Sand  from  the  desert. 


Water-wheel. 


at  daybreak  to  descry  the  Pyramids  if  the  atmosphere 
had  been  clear.  But  the  right  shore  was  covered  with 
sand,  and  the  high  wind  was  carrying  it  through  the 
air,  so  that  it  cut  us  uncomfortably  on  the  boat  in  the 
middle  of  the  river.  We  felt  that  we  were  in  Egypt, 
and  but  for  the  wTater  on  both  sides  of  us,  might  have 
thought  ourselves  in  the  desert.  The  left  bank  was 
six  or  eight  feet  above  the  river,  and  a  rude  wheel  we 


v  v',.. 


lit:  I 


IRRIGATING   WHEEL.       NILE    BOAT.       PYRAMIDS. 

frequently  saw  at  work,  to  raise  water  for  irrigating 
the  soil.  As  this  wide  and  level  country  opened  on 
either  hand  to  our  view  and  our  imaginations,  we 
began  to  appreciate  the  wonderful  value  of  this  great 
'central  stream,  the  life-blood  of  Egypt. 

At  noon  we  readied  Boolak,  the  landing-place  of 
Cairo.  We  stepped  ashore  into  a  large  quadrangle, 
among  a  caravan  of  camels  just  arrived  with  the  over- 
land mail  from  India. 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  413 

Cairo  iu  the  dark.  Never  rain?. 

A  broad  straight  road,  two  miles  long  and  shaded 
with  large  trees,  led  us  to  the  city,  and  into  the  great 
"oblong  square"  in  the  "city  of  Saladin  and  the 
Arabian  Nights."  And  as  if  my  first  impressions  of  it 
were  to  be  in  keeping  with  our  dreams  of  the  city  of 
Haroun  al  Raschid,  my  first  excursion  into  it  was  in 
a  dark  evening.  Cairo  is  not  lighted  by  gas — not. 
yet.  Cairo  has  no  lamps  in  its  streets.  Cairo  sheds 
no  light  from  the  latticed  windows  of  its  houses  upon 
the  passer-by.  Cairo  sits  in  blackness  of  darkness 
after  the  sunlight  is  gone.  No  man  is  allowed  to  go 
out  into  her  streets  without  a  lantern  in  his  hand ;  and 
streets  that  are  thronged  in  the  daytime  with  a  busy 
crowd  of  people  are  deserted  and  silent  in  the  evening 
as  a  street  of  tombs.  Achmet  would  lead  me  to  any 
part  of  it.  Taking  a  lantern  he  went  before  me,  and 
I  soon  lost  myself  in  the  labyrinth  of  streets  not  ten 
feet  wide,  and  the  silent,  gloomy  houses  coming  nearer 
and  nearer,  to  each  other  as  they  ascend,  till  at  the 
top  a  narrow  streak  of  sky,  with  a  few  stars,  is  to  be 
seen,  and  in  some  of  the  streets  the  houses  actually 
meet  together  at  the  eaves.  As  it  never  rains  in 
Cairo,  there  is  no  need  of  the  sun  to  dry  the  streets ; 
and  being  so  narrow,  they  exclude  the  heat,  which  in 
the  summer  would  be  more  oppressive  but  for  this 
perpetual  shade.  It  was  the  silence  of  utter  solitude 
as  we  trod  the  unpaved  streets ;  yet,  when  we  knew 
that  all  these  houses  were  filled  with  living  men  and 
women,  and  the  tales  of  Oriental  life,  of  which  we 
have  read  from  childhood,  were  all  made  real  in  the 
habitations  on  our  right  and  left,  a  feeling  of  mvsteri- 


414  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Street  gate.  street  scenes. 

ous  wonder  stole  over  me,  and  I  was  excited  in  the 
midst  of  the  darkness  and  stillness  that  reigned.  We 
came  to  a  gate  across  the  street,  and  after  long  and 
loud  knocking  we  roused  a  surly  keeper,  who  came 
out  and  opened  it  for  us  to  pass.  We  met  a  vailed 
woman  preceded  "by  a  servant  with  a  light  in  his 
hand,  but  they  shrank  closely  to  the  side  of  the  street, 
and  held  down  their  heads  as  if  they  were  out  on  a 
secret  expedition,  and  were  afraid  of  being  recognized. 
Women  are  rarely  abroad  here  after  night  has  fallen. 
At  the  door  that  opened  through  a  stone  wall,  and 
promised  to  conduct  us  into  a  court,  we  knocked  till 
the  stupid-looking  servant,  with  a  loose  garment 
around  him  and  a  light  in  his  hand,  opened  the  gate, 
and  assured  us  his  master  was  not  at  home.  We  ex- 
tended our  walk  through  many  of  the  streets,  and 
meeting  no  adventures  worth  a  mention,  returned  to 
our  lodgings. 

The  next  morning  the  caivasse  of  the  Consul,  with 
a  staff  silver-headed  as  a  badge  of  office,  was  to  escort 
us  through  the  town,  and  open  doors  that  might  other- 
wise be  closed.  Through  the  narrow  and  tortuous 
streets  we  ran  single  file,  scampering  along  as  if  we 
were  on  a  holiday  frolic,  now  in  peril  of  being  knock- 
ed over  by  a  procession  of  camels,  whose  burdens 
blockaded  the  streets,  or  a  string  of  asses  with  timber 
swinging  from  their  sides,  and  dangling  against  any 
tiling  in  the  way.  The  water-carriers  it  was  hard  to 
avoid,  as  they  led  their  donkeys  loaded  with  a  hog- 
skin  bottle — the  skin's  head  and  legs  sewed  up  and 
made  to  hold  water,  so  that  it  looks  like  the  entire 


:/*  ^fi 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  417 

Curiosity  of  women.  Lazy  Arabs. 

animal  stuffed  and  laid  across  a  donkey.  When  we 
struck  into  a  street  that  was  not  a  thoroughfare,  it  was 
exceedingly  pleasant  to  ride  in  the  cool  shade,  looking 
up,  as  I  confess  I  did  often,  to  catch  sight  of  the  eyes 
that  were  peering  through  the  latticed  windows  to 
meet  the  eyes  of  the  passing  Franks.  One  of  them, 
more  curious  than  the  rest,  pushed  a  shutter  open 
and  leaned  out  of  the  window,  unvailed,  and  with  only 
a  loosely-flowing  shawl  over  her  shoulders.  A  barber 
on  his  knees  was  shaving  the  head  of  a  man  who  was 
also  on  his  knees  before  him ;  he  had  taken  all  the 
hair  off  but  a  single  tuft  on  his  crown,  with  which  the 
angel  is  expected  to  pull  him  into  Paradise.  Ladies 
mounted  on  donkeys,  led  by  grave  old  servants,  met 
us  frequently.  They  were  clothed  in  rich  silk  dresses, 
flowing  and  puffed  out  so  as  to  give  them  the  appear- 
ance of  two.  or  three  single  ladies  rolled  into  one.  But 
no  part  of  their  faces  could  be  seen,  except  their  large, 
watery,  lustrous  black  eyes,  which  always  fell  the  in- 
stant they  encountered  the  gaze  of  the  profane  Frank, 
who  stares  as  if  he  would  read  the  soul  that  peers 
through  these  crystal  windows.  Lazy  Arabs,  sitting 
on  the  ground  by  the  doors  of  the  coffee-shops,  were 
smoking,  and  affected  to  care  nothing  for  us  if  we 
should  run  over  them ;  but  the  donkeys  picked  their 
way  among  their  legs,  and  ambled  on.  The  ride,  in 
the  novelty  of  the  objects  constantly  meeting  us,  was 
exciting,  and  Ave  dashed  up  the  hill  to  the  citadel 
with  quite  as  much  enthusiasm  as  if  we  were  bent  on 
taking  it  by  storm. 

"  Cairo  the  superb,  the  Holy  City,  the  delight  of 


418  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Mosques  and  minarets.  Pyramids. 

the  imagination,  greatest  among  the  great,  whose 
splendor  and  opulence  made  the  prophet  smile" — 
Cairo  lies  at  our  feet.  The  domes  of  four  hundred 
mosques  are  shining  in  the  light  of  a  cloudless  sun, 
and  countless  minarets  rjoint  to  the  sky.  The  tombs 
of  the  Mameluke  Sultans  are  seen  in  the  east,  leading 
the  eye  along  to  the  great  wilderness  of  sand  that 
there  stretches  away  to  the  horizon,  an  everlasting 
ocean  at  rest.  Turning  to  the  south  we  look  off  upon 
Heliopolis,  the  Athens  of  old  Egypt ;  and  there,  alone 
in  its  grandeur,  as  if  defiant  of  the  ravages  of  four  thou- 
sand years,  stands  the  obelisk  on  which,  we  are  told 
by  the  antiquaries,  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  father  of 
the  faithful,  even  Abraham,  gazed  when  he  came  into 
this  country.  Around  the  city  and  near,  the  land  is 
green ;  and  the  groves  of  orange  and  palm  on  the 
plain,  and  the  Nile  in  the  midst  of  it,  diffusing  fruit- 
fulness  as  it  passes  by,  would  indicate  that  we  are 
in  the  heart  of  a  fertile  land,  the  balmiest  and  bright- 
est the  sun  shines  on.  And  across  the  river,  just  on 
the  verge  of  the  deserts  of  Lybia,  rise,  like  carved 
mountains,  the  pyramids  of  Gheezeh,  and  the  myste- 
rious Sphinx  in  the  midst  of  them ;  solemn,  mighty 
memorials  of  the  past,  the  most  stupendous  works  of 
art  that  now  survive  the  wrecks  of  time.  A  few  miles 
to  the  south  of  them,  are  the  pyramids  of  Sakliara 
and  of  Dashoor,  sixteen  in  all,  that  are  in  sight  from 
this  proud  eminence.  The  view  was  to  me  most  im- 
pressive and  subduing.  I  felt  the  weight  of  time 
upon  me.  These  are  scenes  with  which  Joseph  was 
familiar,  when,  in  the  midst  of  them,  he  was  ruler  over 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  419 

Moses  and  Abraham.  Old  things  new. 

Egypt ;  here  Moses  was  born,  and  cradled  in  the 
bulrushes  of  the  Nile  at  my  feet.  Within  the  fields 
on  which  I  am  now  gazing  with  awe,  the  miracles  of 
the  great  prophet  were  wrought,  and  the  first-born 
of  the  families  of  Egypt  perished  in  a  night,  while 
the  destroying  angel  passed  by  the  houses  of  Israel. 
I  seem  to  be  on  the  frontiers  of  the  world,  and  look- 
ing upon  the  earliest  buildings  that  remain  of  the 
workmanship  of  ages,  perhaps  before  Abraham  was. 
The  ruins  of  old  Cairo  crown  the  hill  a  little  to  the 
south  of  us,  and  the  island  of  Hhoda,  with  its  villa* 
and  palaces  in  the  Nile,  is  still  nearer  to  us ;  and  then 
we  come  thorough  the  acacias  and  palms  to  the  city 
at  our  feet,  and  from  the  mass  of  roofs,  like  a  field  of 
red  pavement,  we  select  the  various  mosques  and  pal- 
aces whose  Arabian  architecture  or  historic  recollec- 
tions command  our  wondering  gaze.  To  the  traveller 
from  a  far-distant  shore — from  a  shore  where  a  young 
nation  is  starting  in  the  career  of  life,  and  the  moss 
has  not  grown  upon  a  roof,  and  the  ivy  has  scarcely 
clung  to  a  tower ;  where  the  temple  of  a  century  is  an 
antiquity,  and  two  centuries  would  press  almost  any 
of  its  buildings  into  ruins,  this  view  is  indescribably 
impressive.  It  is  new  because  it  is  old.  And  even 
more  must  the  traveller  be  moved  by  this  landscape, 
who  receives  with  veneration  the  records  of  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures,  and  knows  that  he  is  now  in 
the  land  of  the  Pharoahs,  and  of  Joseph,  and  in  the 
house  of  Israel's  bondage. 

On  this  commanding  height  is  the  new  mosque  of 
Mohammed  Ali.    In  the  centre  of  a  marble-paved  court 


420        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 


Interior  of  the  mosque. 


is  a  beautiful  fountain,  and  on  the  sides  are  rows  of 
pillars  of  Egyptian  marble.  On  the  eastern  side  a 
gate  leads  to  the  interior  of  the  temple,  which,  after 
taking  off  our  shoes,  we  were  permitted  to  enter. 
The  first  blaze  of  splendor  was  dazzling,  even  in  the 
dim  light  that  comes  down  from  the  magnificent  dome 
supported  by  four  massive  square  columns.  The  gor- 
geous pillars  are  of  rose-tinted  marble ;  the  walls  are 
lined  with  Oriental  alabaster,  and  a  hundred  and  fifty 
lamps  and  chandeliers  are  hanging  but  a  little  above 
our  heads.  The  rich  tomb  of  Mohammed  Ali  stands  in 
one  corner,  and  around  it  the  faithful  were  kneeling, 
while  the  [Moolahs  read  from  the  Koran  lying  on  a 
low  bench  beside  them.  The  style  of  this  temple  is 
not  so  solemn  as  others  that  I  have  seen ;  but  it  sur- 
passes St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  or  its  great  rival  St. 
Sophia  at  Constantinople,  in  the  splendor  of  its  archi- 
tecture and  the  beauty  of  its  decorations.  The  old 
Turk,  who  followed  us  every  step  that  we  took  with- 
in the  sacred  inclosure,  solicited  the  never-to-be-for- 
gotten backshish,  and  received ^t  with  as  much  pleas- 
ure as  a  donkey-boy.  The  large  quadrangle  in  which 
we  are  now  standing  is  made  famous  in  history,  and 
will  be  so  in  all  the  after  records  of  Egypt,  on  account 
of  the  massacre  of  the  Mamelukes  by  Mohammed  Ali. 
Having  learned  that  a  powerful  conspiracy  had  been 
formed  among  them  for  his  overthrow,  he  determined 
to  anticipate  their  action  by  striking  a  signal  and 
fatal  blow.  He  was  absent  a  day's  journey  from  Cairo 
with  his  army  when  the  news  of  the  intended  insur- 
rection was  communicated  to  him.      Without  disclos- 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  421 


Slaughter  and  escape.  Pasha's  palace. 

ing  his  purposes  to  any  one,  lie  hastened  to  the  cap- 
ital, and  affecting  total  ignorance  of  what  was  in  prep- 
aration by  his  enemies,  he  invited  the  Mamelukes,  to 
the  number  of  six  hundred,  to  a  feast  at  his  palace. 
Unsuspicious  of  danger,  they  assembled.  After  the 
feast  was  over,  while  they  were  in  the  court,  suddenly 
a  fire  of  musketry  was  opened  upon  them  from  the  sur- 
rounding ramparts.  Every  avenue  of  escape  was  cut 
off,  and  the  whole  number  slain,  with  the  exception 
of  one  man,  who  leaped  over  the  wall  on  the  south- 
westerly side,  and  escaped.  We  stood  on  the  wall 
and  looked  over  the  precipice  down  which  he  pre- 
cipitated himself  on  horseback,  and  wondered  that 
any  one  could  make  the  leap  and  escape  with  life. 
This  was  the  end  of  the  notorious  aristocracy  of  the 
Mamelukes,  who  for  centuries  had  maintained  a  terri- 
ble sway  in  Egypt. 

From  this  we  went  down  to  the  palace  of  Abbas 
Pasha,  and  entered  a  court-yard  some  five  hundred 
feet  square.  In  this  inclosure  the  pilgrims  on  their 
return  from  Mecca  prostrate  themselves  side  by  side, 
while  the  shiekh,  mounted  on  horseback,  rides  over 
the  multitude — his  horse  stepping  tenderly  but  steadi- 
ly upon  the  living  pavement,  wounding,  crushing,  and 
not  unfrequently  killing  the  miserable  victims  of  a 
superstition  which  teaches  them  that  those  are  the 
most  blessed  who  suffer  the  most  in  this  barbarous 
rite.  Our  Consul  told  me  that  he  witnessed  the  cere- 
mony but  a  few  weeks  before  my  visit  to  this  city. 
He  saw  many  of  them  on  rising  from  the  ground,  with 
the   blood   streaming  from   their   wounds,   sometimes 


422        EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST. 

Harem.  Pleasure-room. 

from  their  mouths  and  nostrils  on  account  of  the  in- 
ternal injuries  which  they  had  received.  At  the  door 
of  the  palace  six  Nubian  slaves,  handsomely  dressed, 
were  standing.  The  superintendent  of  the  palace 
conducted  us  through  the  spacious  and  magnificent 
apartments.  The  audience  chamber  was  splendidly 
furnished  with  divans  and  sofas  of  Parisian  manu- 
facture, showing  the  eastward  progress  of  western 
luxuries.  We  passed  by  the  door  of  the  Harem, 
where  the  numerous  wives  of  the  Pasha  are  confined. 
The  present  Pasha  is  not  so  scrupulous  as  his  prede- 
cessor, who,  being  advised  by  his  physicians  to  part 
with  the  most  of  his  harem,  distributed  them  very  free- 
ly among  the  courtiers  by  whom  he  was  surrounded. 
Passing  through  the  hall,  some  three  or  four  hundred 
feet  long,  out  of  which  doors  opened  on  every  hand 
into  splendid  apartments,  we  came  at  length  to  a  room 
at  the  extremity  of  the  palace,  to  which  the  Pasha  is 
accustomed  to  retire  after  dinner  to  enjoy  his  pipe 
and  take  repose.  It  is  a  lofty  room  about  forty  feet 
square  ;  a  divan  extends  across  one  end  of  it,  while  on 
the  opposite  side  are  some  thirty  marble  vases  on  the 
the  wall,  through  which  jets  of  water  rise,  filling  the 
vases  and  then  flowing  over  upon  the  marble  floor, 
into  which  channels  are  cut  for  the  stream  to  meander 
and  murmur  through  the  apartment,  and  finally  ebb 
away  under  the  divan  upon  which  the  Pasha  reclines. 
The  superintendent  intimated  to  our  party,  that  when 
distinguished  strangers  were  present,  it  was  customary 
to  cause  the  fountain  to  play ;  upon  which  the  young 
men  of  our  number  suggested   in  return,  that  if  the 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  423 

A  royal  treat.  The  way  it  was  done. 

Pasha  was  desirous  of  being  celebrated  in  America 
for  his  courtesy,  it  would  be  very  well  for  him  on 
the  present  occasion  to  make  the  best  display  in  his 
power.  We  were  then  invited  to  seat  ourselves  in 
the  Oriental  fashion  upon  the  divan.  Instantly  from 
every  jet  the  water  leaped  into  the  air,  and  came 
trickling  over  the  vases,  flowing  gently  and  deliciously 
through  the  room,  cooling  the  atmosphere,  and  shed- 
ding a  delightful  influence  like  that  of  soft  music  over 
our  frames.  Then  entered  as  many  Circassian  slaves 
as  there  were  guests,  each  slave  bearing  in  his  hand 
the  long  pipe  and  silver  saucer.  Placing  the  saucer 
upon  the  floor,  and  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  in  it,  he  took 
the  measure  with  his  eye  of  the  distance  from  the 
bowl  to  the  lip,  and,  with  a  graceful  swing,  brought 
it  around  so  that  the  amber  tip  just  rested  upon  the 
waiting  lip  of  the  guest.  The  dexterity  of  the  serv- 
ants is  shown  in  taking  the  measurement  so  exactlv 
as  not  to  require  the  guest  to  move  his  head  either 
backward  or  forward  for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the 
pipe.  The  slaves  then  returned,  and  spreading  a 
gold-embroidered  napkin  across  our  knees,  presented 
us  with  coffee,  and  afterward  with  sherbet.  We  were 
then  treated  with  sweetmeats,  the  mode  of  eating 
them  being  peculiar.  A  saucer  and  spoon  is  given  to 
the  guest,  who  takes  first  a  spoonful  of  the  preserves 
in  his  mouth,  and  then  a  mouthful  of  water,  suffering 
the  water  to  trickle  through  the  preserves,  and  cany 
down  the  taste  of  the  fruit.  After  our  entertainment 
was  completed,  the  superintendent  intimated  to  some 
of  the  party — what  we  very  well  knew  before,  from 


424  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Paying  for  it.  Putting  off  our  shoes. 

our  repeated  former  experiences  of  Oriental  hospitality 
— that  it  was  expected  of  the  guests  to  make  a  present, 
in  proportion  to  their  wealth  and  dignity.  When  this 
request  was  complied  with,  we  found  that  our  enter- 
tainment at  the  palace  of  the  Pasha  had  cost  us  quite 
as  much  as  it  was  worth,  Ibut  it  had  given  us  a  fine 
opportunity  of  seeing  how  things  are  done  in  the 
high  places  of  Egypt. 

Cairo  shows  the  domes  of  four  hundred  mosques, 
and  minarets  without  number.  Several  of  these  I 
visited,  as  there  was  no  such  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
obtaining  admission  as  we  encountered  at  Constanti- 
nople. In  Cairo,  the  keeper  of  the  mosque  is  ready 
to  admit  Franks  at  any  time,  attended  by  the  caivasse 
of  the  Consul ;  and  we  presented  ourselves,  with  such 
an  escort,  at  the  door  of  the  mosque  of  Sultan  Hassan. 
The  magnificent  porch  by  which  we  entered  impress- 
ed us  instantly  with  the  grandeur  of  the  architecture 
displayed  in  this  sacred  edifice.  The  keeper  of  the 
mosque  was  provided  with  a  large  number  of  over- 
shoes, made  of  straw  or  husks,  which  he  insisted  that 
we  should  put  on  before  we  would  be  allowed  to  enter. 
So,  pulling  off  our  boots,  and  availing  ourselves  of 
the  provision  made  for  us,  we  proceeded  to  the  inte- 
rior. One  of  our  number  most  profanely  resolved 
upon  dispensing  with  the  overshoes,  and  pushed  his 
way  along  without  them,  to  the  great  indignation  and 
astonishment  of  the  Moslems  who  were  standing 
around. 

From  the  court,  a  recess  on  each  side  is  surmounted 
by  a  majestic  arch — the  one  on  the  east  being  seventy 


~:"-  ^^IBBa^-'* 


MOSQUE   OF  THE   SULTAN   HASSAN. 


TOMH   OF   SULTAN   KAITB.\Y. 


CAIRU     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  42 


Sultan's  tomb. 


feet  across.  Within  it,  is  the  sacred  place  of  tlie  chief 
jDriest,  who  here  offers  prayer  for  the  congregation,  on 
every  holy  day  of  the  Moslems.  Rows  of  beautiful 
glass  vases  bear  the  name  of  the  Sultan  to  whom  the 
mosque  is  dedicated.  A  tomb  is  in  the  rear  of  this 
recess,  and  bears  the  date  764  of  the  Hejira,  which 
answers  to  1363  of  our  era.  A  copy  of  the  Koran 
lies  upon  the  tomb,  and  over  it  are  suspended  colored 
lamps. 

Once  more  upon  our  donkeys — with  Achmet  as  our 
dragoman  and  guide — we  dashed  through  the  streets, 
and  up  the  banks  of  the  river  to  Old  Cairo,  surmount- 
ed with  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  city  and  its  mosque. 
This  was  the  Babylon  of  Egypt ;  and  the  Roman  sta- 
tion near  the  mosque  of  Amer,  is  supposed  to  be  the 
fortress  besieged  by  the  Moslem  invader.  The  walls 
and  towers  that  remain  show  its  former  strength. 
Here  is  a  village  of  Coptic  Christians.  In  a  fortress 
over  the  eastern  tower  is  an  early  Christian  record, 
on  wood,  of  the  time  of  Diocletian,  and  in  hiero- 
glyphics, showing  that  the  early  Egyptian  Christians 
used  this  style  of  writing,  which  was  borrowed  from 
the  pagans. 

We  passed  the  island  of  Rhoda,  opposite  Old  Cairo, 
on  which  is  erected  the  jVilomete?\  a  well  or  chamber, 
in  the  centre  of  which  is  placed  a  graduated  pillar  for 
the  purpose  of  marking  the  daily  height  of  the  Nile. 
This  is  proclaimed  every  morning  in  the  streets  of  the 
capital,  during  the  inundation,  by  four  criers ;  to  each 
of  whom  a  particular  portion  of  the  city  is  assigned. 
Great  importance  is  attached  to  this  information,  inas- 


428  EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Moses  in  the  Nile.  Crossing. 

much  as  the  price  of  provisions,  and  the  toll  that  is 
paid  for  the  transportation  of  produce,  are  measured 
according  to  the  state  of  the  river.  This  Kilometer 
is  said  to  have  borne  an  inscription  dated  848  of  out- 
era  ;  hut  it  is  known  that  one  was  constructed  here 
as  far  "back  as  the  reign  of  Soolayman,  who  was  caliph 
about  a.d.  714. 

A  tradition  of  the  Arabs  has  assigned  to  Rhoda  the 
honor  of  being  the  spot  where  Moses  was  found  by  the 
daughter  of  Pharaoh,  whose  name,  Josephus  tells  us, 
was  Thermenthis. 

About  five  miles  from  Cairo  we  crossed  the  Nile, 
and  set  off  from  Gheezeh  for  the  Pyramids.  In  this 
miserable  village  large  heaps  of  corn  and  barley  were 
lying  for  sale.  A  handful  of  the  grain,  which  I  took, 
has  since  been  planted  in  our  country,  and  yielded 
more  than  a  hundred  fold. 

Through  a  grove  of  India  rubber  trees,  acacias, 
and  palms,  the  cultivated  grounds  of  the  Pasha,  and 
along  the  banks  of  the  canals,  that  are  cut  through  the 
plain  to  conduct  water  for  irrigation,  we  rode  to  an 
arm  of  the  Nile,  where  our  journey  would  have  been 
suddenly  arrested  but  for  the  fortunate  appearance  of 
a  number  of  Arabs  who  were  ready  to  ford  the  river, 
and  carry  us  across.  Not  without  some  misgivings, 
however,  as  to  the  safety  of  taking  seats  astride  their 
shoulders,  we  submitted  to  the  only  mode  of  transpor- 
tation that  offered  itself,  and  were  borne  in  safety  to 
the  other  side.  They  returned,  after  having  set  us 
down,  and  led  our  donkeys  across,  and  we  mounted 
once  more.     As  we  approached  the -edge  of  the  desert. 


;>■--.  - 


■:: 


¥§ 


>2 


CAIKO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  431 

Sand  storm.  Sphinx. 

we  encountered  a  storm  of  sand  that  was  Lome  through 
the  air,  and  cut  off  all  vieAv  of  the  pyramids,  until  we 
were  almost  upon  them.  At  length  we  see  them  in 
the  midst  of  this  mysterious  cloud,  sublime  and  sol- 
emn— the  mighty  memorials  of  a  dim  and  distant 
past.  They  are  even  the  more  sublime  as  we  now 
behold  them,  in  the  sands  of  this  desert,  which  seems 
to  be  aroused  like  the  ocean,  and  is  rising  and  curling 
around  the  heads  of  these  hoary  sentinels.  The  sand- 
storm became  so  furious  that  some  of  the  beasts  re- 
fused to  proceed  against  it,  and  actually  turned  around 
and  headed  the  other  way,  until  its  violence  was  past. 
Happily,  it  was  of  short  continuance,  and  it  afforded 
us  a  fine  opportunity  of  witnessing  one  of  those  ter- 
rible commotions  which,  when  encountered  on  the 
desert,  often  prove  terribly  fatal  to  the  unhappy  cara- 
vans they  overtake.  The  storm  is  over ;  the  sun  re- 
turns. Before  us  are  the  pyramids  of  Gheezeh,  and 
in  their  midst  the  mighty  Sphinx,  looking  out  upon 
the  plain. 

I  confess  to  strange,  almost  superstitious  feelings 
as  I  halted  before  the  Sphinx,  and  gazed  upward  on 
this  silent  and  mighty  monument.  A  huge  form  ris- 
ing sixty  feet  from  the  ground,  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet  long,  and  the  head  more  than  a  hundred  feet 
round,  with  mutilated  but  yet  apparent  human  fea- 
tures, looking  out  toward  the  fertile  land  and  the  Nile. 
It  suddenly  impressed  me  as  if  it  were  indeed  the 
divinity  of  ancient  Egypt.  The  Arabs  of  the  present 
day  call  it  Aboolhol  "the  Father  of  Terror"  or  im- 
mensity.     An  ignorant  people  might  be  easily  tempted 


432  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Temple  in  front.  Si  lid  rock. 

to  regard  it  with  reverence  and  fear.  "  In  its  state  of 
pristine  perfection,  no  single  statue  in  Egypt  could 
have  vied  with  it.  When,"  says  Mr.  Bartlett,  "  the 
lower  part  of  the  figure,  which  had  been  covered  up 
"by  the  sand,  was  at  length  uncovered  for  a  while  by 
laborious  and  Sisyphus-like  toil  (the  sand  slipping 
down  almost  as  fast  as  it  could  be  removed),  it 
presented  the  appearance  of  an  enormous  couchant 
Sphinx,  with  gigantic  paws,  between  which  crouched, 
as  if  for  protection,  a  miniature  tempfe,  with  a  platform 
and  flights  of  steps  for  approaching  it,  with  others 
leading  down  from  the  plain  above.  A  crude  brick 
wall  protected  it  from  the  sand.  It  is  hardly  possible 
to  conceive  a  more  strange  or  imposing  spectacle  than 
it  must  have  formerly  presented  to  the  worshipper, 
advancing,  as  he  did,  along  this  avenue  of  approach, 
confined  between  the  sand  walls  of  the  ravine,  and 
looking  up  over  the  temple  to  the  colossal  head  of  the 
tutelary  deity,  which  beamed  down  upon  him  from  an 
altitude  of  sixty  feet,  with  an  aspect  of  godlike  benig- 
nity." 

As  yet  no  entrance  has  been  effected,  and  it  is 
probably  carved  from  the  solid  rock.  Neither  is  there 
reason  to  suppose  that  it  had  relation  to  the  pyramids, 
in  whose  vicinity  it  stands.  I  think  it  very  strange 
that  Herodotus  makes  no  mention  of  the  Sphinx,  nor 
Diodorus,  nor,  indeed,  any  ancient  author  before  the 
Roman  age,  though  its  great  antiquity  is  well  estab- 
lished by  the  inscriptions  that  are  found  upon  it.  The 
statue  seems  to  be  crumbling,  and  the  head  has  been 
mutilated  so,  that  the  cap  which  formerly  covered  if 


C  A  I R  0     AND     T  II  E     PYRAMID  S.  433 

Its  design.  »  Swarin  of  Arabs. 

and  the  beard  are  nearly  all  gone.  I  rode  around  it, 
and  then  walked  out  on  the  wave  of  sand  to  the  ped- 
estal, and  crept  along  as  nearly  under  the  monster  as 
I  could  get,  and  found  that  the  sense  of  veneration 
wore  away  as  I  became  familiar  with  the  mass  of 
stone  that  stands  here  so  mysteriously — a  greater 
wonder,  in  my  view,  than  the  pyramids  themselves. 
What  is  its  original  design  ?  Who  made  it  ?  These 
are  questions  never  to  be  answered  by  any  thing  safer 
than  conjecture.  Doubtless  the  Sphinx  was  an  ob- 
ject of  worship,  and  was  carved  out  of  a  rock  in  the 
Lybian  range  for  that  purpose.  Viewed  in  this  light, 
or  even  in  the  dim  twilight  of  utter  ignorance  as  to 
its  design,  it  certainly  remains  the  most  mysterious 
and  impressive  of  the  monuments  of  Egypt.  If  those 
lips  could  speak,  what  a  story  would  they  tell!  If 
those  eyes  could  see,  on  what  wondrous  scenes  they 
have  looked  in  the  four  thousand  years  that  those 
stone  orbs  have  been  gazing  upon  the  plains  of 
Egypt !  the  rising  and  retiring  of  her  wonderful  river, 
coming  like  a  divinity  to  prepare  her  bosom  for  the 
seed,  and  then  retiring  that  the  flower  and  fruits  may 
gladden  the  soil,  and  reward  the  laborer's  toil.  And 
then  we  turned  to  the  pyramids. 

All  the  while  I  have  been  studying  this  stupen- 
dous mystery,  a  swarin  of  disgusting  Arabs  have  been 
pestering  me  to  engage  them  as  my  aids  in  explor- 
ing the  pyramids.  I  could  not  drive  them  off,  or  buy 
them  off,  not  even  by  a  threat  to  have  none  of  them 
unless  they  quit,  or  a  promise  to  take  them  all  if  they 
would  let  me  muse  alone. 
Vol.  IT.— T 


434 


EUKOPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


Size  of  the  Great  Pyramid. 


Grows  upon  you. 


Have  you  ever  stood  in  the  centre  of  a  twelve  acre 
lot?  Mark  off  in  your  mind's  plantation  twelve  acres, 
and  cover  the  ground  with  layers  of  huge  hewn  stone, 
so  nicely  fitted  that  the  joints  can  scarcely  be  dis- 
cerned. Over  this  platform,  but  two  feet  within  the 
outer  edge,  put  on  another  layer,  and  another,  leav- 
ing but  a  single  narrow  passage  into  a  few  small 
chambers  in  the  far  interior  of  this  immense  mass, 
that  rises  by  gradually  diminishing  layers  as  it  as- 
cends, till  it  reaches  an  apex  twice  the  height  of  the 
loftiest  church  spire  in  New  York,  and  you  have  some 
idea  of  the  outer  dimensions  of  the  Great  Pyramid. 
As  at  the  first  sight  of  every  long-expected  wonder, 
we  are  not  instantly  overwhelmed  with  the  magnitude 
of  the  pile.  It  takes  some  time  to  adjust  one's  mind 
to  the  object ;  and  probably  not  one  man  in  a  thou- 
sand would  believe  that  this  pyramid  covers  five, 
much  less  that  it  covers  ten,  and  even  twelve  or  thir- 


TIIE    GREAT    PYRAMID. 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  435 


Mystery.  Getting  in. 


teen  acres  of  earth.  But  it  is  even  so.  And  as  great- 
ness and  mystery  are  elements  of  the  highest  sub- 
limity, we  are  excited  the  longer  we  contemplate 
these  mighty  structures,  and  strive  to  get  them  fairly 
within  the  grasp  of  the  mind.  They  grow  every  mo- 
ment we  look  at  them.  They  begin  to  take  us  in, 
and  we  feel  ourselves  gradually  absorbed  by  the 
grandeur  of  the  monument  that  forbids,  yet  invites 
us  to  enter  its  mysterious  portals. 

We  must  have  these  rascally  Arabs  to  go  with  us, 
or  we  shall  neither  find  our  way  in  nor  out,  and  no 
one  wishes  to  make  for  himself  a  living  tomb  among 
the  sepulchres  of  the  Pharoahs.  Achmet  had  brought 
a  supply  of  candles,  which  were  now  lighted,  and  one 
Arab  was  engaged  as  an  escort  for  each  traveller.  I 
employed  two  of  the  fellows,  one  to  go  before  and  the 
other  behind  me,  and  found  the  good  of  it  before  com- 
pleting the  tom\  The  entrance  is  about  forty  feet 
above  the  foundation,  but  the  sand  is  drifted  up  to 
the  mouth,  so  that  we  stand  before  the  two  huge 
blocks  that  form  a  pointed  arch,  and  look  down  into 
the  abyss  which  we  are  to  explore.  The  passage  is 
worn  so  smooth  that  we  could  not  walk  down  the 
slippery  blocks  of  stone,  at  an  angle  of  twenty-seven 
degrees,  but  for  the  foot-holes  that  have  been  cut  for 
our  aid.  Sliding  and  creeping  down  eighty  feet,  we 
came  to  the  passage  that  has  been  opened  into  a 
chamber  under  ground  and  nearly  in  a  line  with  the 
apex  of  the  pyramid.  This  passage  has  been  closed, 
and  we  now  commenced  the  ascent  to  the  °;reat  o-al- 
lery.     The  passage  up  was  fatiguing,  and  the  more  so 


436  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

The  progress.  King's  Chamber. 

from  the  incessant  clamor  of  the  fellows  who  pulled 
me  along  up,  continually  extolling  my  generosity  and 
wealth,  which  they  hoped  to  know  more  of  when  they 
had  come  to  the  end  of  their  work.  The  heat  is  very 
oppressive.  No  circulation  of  ah*  is  had,  and  some  of 
the  party  abandoned  further  progress  for  fear  of  be- 
ing suffocated.  At  the  foot  of  the  great  gallery.is  the 
opening  of  a  passage  which  leads  down  to  the  subter- 
ranean chamber.  We  pass  it,  and  press  onward  and 
upward  by  the  inclined  plane  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  feet,  where  we  came  to  a  horizontal  avenue  which 
was  once  barred  against  the  footsteps  of  forbidden 
mortals  by  four  granite  portcullises,  which  moved  in 
grooves  of  stone.  The  art  and  violence  of  the  invader 
have  broken  them  down,  and  we  pursue  our  way,  and 
soon  stand  in  the  grand  apartment  of  the  pyramid  of 
Cheops,  the  Chamber  of  the  King,  his  mighty  and 
gloomy  bedchamber,  where  he  thought  to  lie  undis- 
turbed forever.  It  is  of  red  granite.  The  solid  walls, 
of  massive  blocks,  have  no  inscriptions,  no  hieroglyph- 
ics, and  inclose  nothing  in  their  Egyptian  darkness 
and  solitude  but  the  great  sarcophagus,  from  which 
the  body  of  the  king  has  been  removed.  It  is  not 
impressive  from  its  vastness,  being  only  thirty-four 
feet  long  and  seventeen  broad ;  and  so  profound  is  the 
darkness  that  the  few  candles  only  serve  to  make  the 
darkness  visible,  and  give  us  no  idea  of  the  extent  of 
the  apartment.  We  held  the  lights  up  to  the  walls 
and  searched  every  corner,  but  met  nothing  of  the 
least  interest,  except  the  sarcophagus,  seven  feet  four 
inches  long  and  three   feet  broad.      Small  tubes   or 


CAIRO     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS.  4o7 

Internal  arrangements.  Queen's  Chamber. 

holes  in  the  side  walls  lead  up  through  the  pyramid 
to  the  outer  surface,  and  above  the  king's  chamber 
are  four  small  cavities,  not  more  than  three  or  four 
feet  high,  left,  it  may  be,  for  the  secretion  of  treas- 
ures, as  it  was  easy  to  render  them  inaccessible  even 
to  those  who  should  penetrate  the  larger  apartments. 
They  are  represented  by  the  four  black  marks  over 
the  king's  chamber  in  the  drawing  on  page  434, 
which  will  give  the  reader  a  more  intelligible  view  of 
the  internal  arrangements  of  a  pyramid  than  the  most 
elaborate  description. 

Glad  to  get  out  of  the  stifling  heat  of  this  gloomy 
chamber,  we  returned  by  the  great  gallery,  and  with 
my  guides  I  struck  off  by  the  horizontal  avenue  to 
the  Queen's  Chamber.  My  friends  had  already  seen 
enough  of  the  interior,  and  declined  the  excursion,  so 
that  I  found  myself  with  the  two  Arabs  in  this  apart- 
ment alone.  They  shouted  with  all  their  might  as 
they  came  to  the  entrance,  that  I  might  hear  the  dead 
sound  given  back  from  the  walls.  This  is  a  much 
smaller  chamber  than  the  other,  and  roofed  with  long 
granite  slabs,  which  rest  against  each  other,  and  form 
an  angle  about  twenty  feet  from  the  floor.  In  the  east 
end  of  it  is  a  niche  where  the  Arabs  have  broken  the 
stones  in  search  for  treasure;  and  Wilkinson  thinks 
that  if  the  pit  where  the  king's  body  was  deposited 
does  exist  in  any  of  these  rooms,  it  should  be  looked 
for  beneath  this  niche.  Streaming,  or  rather  steam- 
ing with  perspiration,  I  hastened  out  and  down  the 
inclined  passage,  rather  carried  than  led  by  the  Arabs, 
who  put  their  dirty  arms  around  me  with  a  disgusting 


438  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 

Paying  the  Arabs.  History. 

familiarity ;  and  in  hopes  of  better  pay  for  their  serv- 
ices, declared  they  never  did  see  so  fine  a  gentleman. 
Before  we  emerged  into  the  light  of  day  they  begged 
that  I  would  pay  them  now  whatever  I  designed,  for 
if  their  sheikh  should  see  them  receiving  any  thing- 
he  would  take  it  away,  leaving  them  only  a  small  part 
of  it  for  their  own.  I  gave  them  about  half  a  dollar, 
which,  for  a  rarity  in  the  East,  was  satisfactory,  and 
they  lavished  their  praises  upon  me  for  my  princely 
liberality,  while  I  thought  it  moderate  for  seeing  a 
pyramid.  Of  course,  when  we  were  out,  they  declared 
they  had  received  nothing,  and  in  the  presence  of  the 
sheikh  begged  for  backshish. 

When  this  pyramid  was  first  opened  we  have  no 
means  of  ascertaining.  Caliph  Mamoon,  in  the  year 
820,  forced  a  passage  into  the  Great  Pyramid  in  the 
hope  of  finding  heaps  of  hidden  treasure.  He  set  his 
engineers  at  work  to  discover  an  entrance ;  and  when 
they  failed  in  this,  they  were  ordered  to  go  through 
the  solid  wall.  A  hundred  feet  in  this  rock,  and  they 
found  their  way  into  the  real  passage,  by  which  they 
worked  their  way  into  the  great  gallery,  and  then  into 
the  two  chambers  I  have  described.  With  eap-er  ex- 
pectations,  sharpened  by  long  and  toilsome  labor,  they 
rush  into  these  secret  recesses,  where  they  shall  find 
the  riches  of  old  Cheops,  and  perhaps  of  his  success- 
ors. Alas !  some  robber  had  anticipated  them,  and 
not  even  the  mummy  of  a  king  was  found.  The  peo- 
ple were  enraged  when  the  Caliph  was  about  to  aban- 
don his  search  without  finding  any  thing  to  reward 
them  for  their  toil;  and  to  satisfy  them,  he  conveyed 


CAlliU     AND     THE     PYRAMIDS. 


439 


Second  pyramid. 


a  heap  of  money  secretly  into  the  pyramid  and  bur- 
ied it,  where  it  was  soon  after  dug  up,  to  the  great 
delight  of  the  clamorous  multitude. 

"The  passages  in  the  second  pyramid  are  very 
similar  to  those  of  the  first ;  but  there  is  no  gallery, 
and  they  lead  only  to  one  main  chamber,  in  which  is 
a  sarcophagus  sunk  in  the  floor.  When  Belzoni 
opened  it,  in  1816,  he  found,  from  an  inscription  in 
the  chamber,  that  it  had  been  visited  before  by  Sultan 
Ali  Mohammed,  by  whose  order  it  was  probably  re- 
closed."  The  third  pyramid,  like  all  the  others,  had 
also  been  explored  when  Colonel  Vyse  reopened  it, 
so  that  the  pyramids,  beyond  all  doubt,  were  an  old 


THE    PYRAMIDS. 


440  EUROPE     AND     THE     EAST. 


story,  inside  as  well  as  out,  long  before  the  period  of 
which  modern  history  speaks. 

We  wandered  for  a  while  among  the  tombs  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  pyramids,  cut  out  of  the  solid  rocks, 
and  had  debated  the  expediency  of  spending  the  night 
in  them,  as  some  travellers  do,  who  wish  to  see  the 
sun  rise  from  the  summit  of  these  monuments.  But 
we  were  more  than  satisfied  with  what  we  had  seen 
and  felt,  and,  mounting  our  donkeys,  returned  to 
Cairo. 


T  H  E      E  N  D. 


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